Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 79
79. Mari-nee, him and the adventurer
With the new addition to the family in tow, I headed towards the gate where Brutt was standing guard.
During the journey, he didn’t speak a word but kept his sharp gaze on me. The fact that he followed along while maintaining a certain distance showed his seriousness.
Soon, we arrived at the gate separating the outer and inner parts of the city, and I caught sight of Brutt’s back.
There were already many children in front of the gate, but they were behaving admirably, following Brutt’s instructions and forming a proper line.
“Hello, Brutt-san.”
“…”
As I greeted Brutt, Brutt nodded silently, then glanced at him, squatting down and showing signs of alertness.
“You don’t need to worry about him. He’s just like a rebellious child going through puberty.”
“?”
He couldn’t grasp what I meant, but he accepted it, I guess.
After that, Brutt didn’t pay any attention to him.
Huh? Am I worried that Brutt might report my actions again?
Well, I’ve changed my way of thinking.
No matter how hard I try, with so many people around, I can’t sneak around their watchful eyes. And since I don’t know who is keeping an eye on my actions, the spread of privacy invasion from the sacred texts can’t be stopped.
If I can’t prevent it anyway, just knowing who is conveying it can somewhat mitigate the damage to my heart.
Isn’t this a reverse ideology? Like this!!
…Whether it’s a reverse or not, I don’t want to hear the logical argument of “either way, you’re losing,” you know?
I took out two large pots from the item box.
The pots contained the apple porridge I made before.
This time, I added grated ginger for a little twist.
It’s warming, and it’s full of good ingredients for the body.
Since I put them in the item box while they were still fresh, the pots were pretty warm.
And as I prepared wooden bowls and spoons, the impatient children crowded closer and closer.
“Hey, be careful not to push.”
After calling Nero and Kuuga to calm the children down, I started handing out the dressed-up apple porridge to the children in line.
“””Thank you!”””
“You’re welcome.Make sure to eat without rushing, okay?”
“””Yeeees!”””
There were so many children in line that I couldn’t talk much, but it was nice to see their energetic demeanor.
By the way, when these children first came, they were so thin and weak that they had difficulty eating alone and spilled the apple porridge several times.
Ema and Roma were by their side, helping them eat.
They’re such good kids, really.
Glancing back, I saw him watching me closely as I continued to dress and hand out the porridge one by one.
His eyes, with pale pupils, didn’t hide his wariness towards me yet.
Well, let’s leave him alone for a while.
I think he’ll react to something from his side eventually.
It’s just a hunch based on experience, though.
After Kuuga calmed the children down, I asked him to lay his large body on the cobblestones in a position that wouldn’t obstruct people’s passage.
Then the children happily approached, burying their faces in his fluffy fur or leaning against him while eating.
In any world, big fluffiness is popular, huh.
Seeing myself surrounded by so many children, I felt like a mother bear with a bunch of cubs.
Meanwhile, Nero, upon finding a child who seemed lonely among the children, would approach and rub against them, actively playing around.
And when the children started showing interest in Nero, he would quickly move and guide them to other children who were alone, acting as a bridge between them.
See, aren’t my family members amazing?
Also, there was another reason I called Nero and Kuuga.
Previously, when I handed out the apple porridge to a child who said they would eat it at home, it almost got snatched away by an adult on the way.
Fortunately, I managed to intervene in time, but since then, I’ve tried to make sure the children eat in front of me or Brutt whenever possible.
Nero and Kuuga, acting as deterrents or rather, as guard cats and guard bears?
For children who couldn’t leave the house and had to be taken back, I had asked Brutt to accompany them through some people.
It’s okay to ask from time to time, right?
After all, without realizing it, they might be making sacred texts and causing various troubles…
And when all the children had been fed, there was still some apple porridge left in the pot.
After putting the pot back in the item box, a few of Brutt’s companions came and took the children away.
However, today, there weren’t enough escorts, and one girl was left alone.
Brutt was about to take her, but I persuaded him to stay somehow.
You can’t leave your post as a gatekeeper, Brutt…
So, I decided to escort the girl myself.
The buildings in the outer city were neat, but they didn’t feel clean, or rather, they seemed to prioritize efficiently accommodating people, almost like a detention center.
There were no gaps between the buildings, so the streets were wide.
However, there were quite a few suspicious individuals sitting around begging or staring at passersby with sharp eyes, making you want to call for the guards.
Honestly, I think the atmosphere is too rough for powerless children to live in.
Amidst all this, the girl and I walked confidently down the middle of the street.
It would be dangerous under normal circumstances, but the girl and I were riding on Kuuga.
Thanks to that, while the suspicious people showed surprised expressions, they didn’t dare to attack us.
As for him… yeah, he’s following along properly.
Eventually, we reached the girl’s house, and when I helped her down from Kuuga, she thanked me and went inside her house.
I was happy to see her desperately waving her hand as she left, and I couldn’t help but smile and wave back.
As I watched the girl off and was about to return home, at that moment…
“There’s nothing for you to eat!!”
Angry voices echoed around.
Looking around, someone rolled out from a building a few houses away and collapsed on the cobblestones.
It seemed serious, so I approached while riding Kuuga, and a man with a knife appeared, kicking the person who had collapsed.
“Because of you guys, the city where we lived-!!”
That building was a restaurant operating in the outer city.
And from what the man said, he must have lived in the second city.
And the person he was kicking turned out to be an adventurer.
I knew he was an adventurer because his name was displayed above his head.
<Bart> that was his name.
And the name was in a deep red color, indicating that the adventurer had a significant negative karma value.
The shop owner continued to kick relentlessly, and the people around joined in, cursing and laughing as they watched Bart being kicked.
The situation was nauseating, but Bart remained silent, enduring it all.
Perhaps he was tired, or maybe the aggressor grew tired of his lack of reaction, but when the shop owner returned inside, the surrounding people, who had been making noise, fell silent.
Only Bart remained motionless on the cobblestones.
As I dismounted from Kuuga to approach him, a figure attempted to charge towards Bart.
“No!”
Instinctively, I used my strings to stop him.
“You! Why did you stop me!?”
“Why, if I hadn’t, what were you planning to do?”
“Tch… If I hadn’t stopped, I would have made this adventurer suffer for all the grudges, anger, and despair harbored against all of us!”
“Even if what you harbor may temporarily ease, harming someone who doesn’t resist is akin to the actions of the adventurers you despise, isn’t it?”
“That’s-…!”
With my words, his strength finally waned.
Though I couldn’t discern his thoughts from his lifeless eyes, if I had to describe his demeanor in one word, it would be perplexed.
Relieved, I removed the strings restraining him and approached Bart.
Seeing him thrown out of the restaurant, it wasn’t hard to imagine his predicament.
I took out a large pot, filled deep dishes with the remaining apple porridge, and offered it gently to him along with a spoon.
“If you’d like, would you eat?”
“You…”
Seeing my face, Bart showed a surprised expression.
Well, my reputation precedes me from the events, doesn’t it?
“I don’t know what you’ve done in the past, but I can understand what you’re doing now. Despite your negative karma, you’ve chosen this country and are trying to face its people, right?”
“…”
“How difficult that must be… Zagreus himself declared it a thorny path. I can’t say ‘Do your best’ because sometimes I want to scream, ‘What more do you want me to do?’ So, all I can do is fill your stomach. When your stomach is full, your mood might change, you know? At least that’s been my experience.”
Hesitantly taking the apple porridge, Bart began to eat while tears flowed.
“…Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He ate with such gusto, just like the hungry children.
After two helpings, he finally seemed to calm down.
“If you get hungry again, try talking to Brutt at that gate over there. I’ll tell him to guide you to my restaurant.”
Leaving him with those words, I led him away from the scene.
Along the way, he spoke up.
“Why did you help that adventurer!? They’re the root of all evil!!”
“That’s right. But aren’t adventurers, including me, part of that?”
“Guh… Urgh…”
“Hehe, maybe I was mean? But you know, it’s good to struggle. I’ve started to want to know your answer too.”
With that, I started walking, and after a slight delay, he followed, the distance between us a bit closer than when we arrived.
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