How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 187

Episode 187

209. The Best Strategy is Annihilation (2)

But to do that, I need to get closer to them and provoke them.

‘For now, I should slowly look for opportunities to bring it up.’

As I was organizing my thoughts and walking, something quick, like a ball, whizzed past me.

“……Huh?”

It’s not a ball.

It’s the kids.

Once they secure food and fill their bellies, they naturally become energetic.

Especially children who are full of energy.

Just as I thought something was flying again, I instinctively snatched it.

“Oh? Mister?”

It was Meina, the beastkin kid I had seen once before.

Because I reflexively grabbed her, the kid was dangling from my hand, held by the scruff of her neck.

“……What are you guys doing?”

“We’re playing!”

Yes, kids should play.

But…….

‘Their play is no joke…….’

I doubt ordinary people can even see what these kids are doing.

“What were you playing?”

“Playing ball!”

“Ah…… so that’s a ball. I thought you were carrying around a bundle of straw.”

Looking at the object Meina was holding, it seemed to be a bundle of straw tightly packed into a ball.

“So, you throw and kick it?”

“No.”

Meina shook her head.

“It’ll break if you kick it! So, we don’t kick it!”

Oh? Then it’s not a ball…….

Well, a roughly bundled straw object doesn’t look very sturdy.

“Instead, we snatch it from each other.”

“Hmm…… like American football.”

Those flashy movements from earlier were just a game of snatching the ball from each other.

‘……These other races’ kids are no joke.’

Honestly, just their movements from earlier, in terms of speed alone, would be hard for most adult human males to keep up with.

Not to mention the beastkins, and there were a few elf kids too, who were similarly more physically capable than humans.

“Ball, huh…… Ah. Wait a minute, kids.”

I suddenly had an idea, so I told the kids to wait and immediately sat down, taking out a few pieces of leather from my bag.

“What’s that?”

“Just leftover leather. I got it from defeating some monsters while traveling. It turned out to be cheaper than I thought, so I just kept it.”

Leather and scraps of cloth are useful, so they always come in handy.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Hehehehehe. You’ll see.”

I took out a needle and thread.

These are essential items for living here.

Because if clothes tear or wear out, you have to fix them yourself.

Fortunately, I know basic sewing.

Well, all I can do is connect and patch things up.

Even so, I’ve repaired my clothes and various items myself countless times while living here, so I’ve gotten the hang of it.

I started sewing simply.

Meina and the other kids surrounded me, watching what I was doing, wagging their tails and perking up their ears.

“Hey…… it looks like some kind of suspicious ritual.”

A boy silently sewing in the middle of the surrounding kids.

What kind of picture is this?

“Guys, you’re making me uncomfortable.”

I tried to ignore the kids’ gazes and quickly finished the work.

I sewed the leather together, summoned Sylph [a wind spirit], blew wind into it with spirit magic, and then sewed it shut.

That way.

“Now it looks more like a ball.”

A fairly bouncy ball was completed.

I made it, but I think it turned out pretty well.

“Oop.”

I lightly bounced it off my palm.

Thump! Thump!

It feels pretty good.

And since it’s monster leather, even strong kids can kick it without worry.

“Here, play with this.”

I tossed it with a tossing motion, and they scrambled to catch it.

“It’ll be more useful than that bundle of straw.”

Well, it’s just a whim.

Originally, there was no need to get involved.

But sometimes, I have to do this much good to avoid getting punished.

The other kids seemed excited about the new ball and started playing well.

Since the reaction is good, should I make a few more in my spare time?

‘I did a good deed.’

As I was feeling pleased.

For some reason, Meina was still staring up at me without following the other kids.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? Aren’t you playing?”

Come on, go play.

I gently pushed her back, but she didn’t budge.

Instead, she just kept staring up at me.

“Are you perhaps Lady Melisia?”

“Hmm, who’s that?”

As I flipped through the original work in my head, focusing, I quickly remembered.

It’s a name from the original work’s setting.

Ah~.

It’s a religion worshiped by some locals among the beastkins.

According to the original work, it’s a giant rabbit with five pure white horns.

……Wait, why a rabbit?

More than that, a horned rabbit is just a monster, isn’t it?

There’s nothing more pathetic than criticizing someone else’s religion.

Just accept it as it is.

“Do I look like I have horns? Or am I cute like a rabbit?”

“No.”

She immediately shook her head.

That was a clean cut.

Wait? Couldn’t you at least acknowledge the cute part?

“Then this oppa [older brother/term of endearment] is just an ordinary human.”

“But humans don’t help others, do they?”

“……Hmm.”

“When we left where we used to live, everyone said that if it wasn’t for Lady Melisia…… no one would help us.”

“…….”

“The world is that hard.”

I couldn’t answer.

It stings to think about the origins of those words, even though they’re just coming from a child.

It means that no one is likely to help them unless it’s a fictional being they worship.

That’s what reality means.

It’s a shame.

They don’t know enough to have pure doubts about the kindness they receive.

Just from those words, I can imagine what these other race refugees have experienced and seen before reaching this point.

“……You guys might not know it yet, but there’s no reason why someone should help someone else. It’s not that hard.”

Anyone can do it, but not everyone does.

“But why is it just you?”

“Well. I don’t know either. ……And I’m not an uncle, you know.”

Just as I was feeling sad that my ‘I’m not an uncle!’ claim, which I’ve half given up on, wasn’t working at all.

The other kids called out to Meina.

“Go on, they’re all waiting.”

“Come with us, mister.”

It seems they want me to play with them.

Seeing that the other adults are busy, they must have turned their eyes to me.

Wait? Does that mean I look free?

Actually, I’m the busiest one here?

Even so, there’s no reason to coldly refuse.

“Okay~ then shall I play with you a little? You little ones.”

Even though I look like this, I’ve been dragged out by my company seniors to play foot volleyball for years.

I don’t think I’ll fall behind these kids in a ball game.

Above all, my current body is overflowing with stamina and strength.

Hahaha! Come at me!

“Come on! You little ones!”

A great man must sometimes play childishly.

Well, if I just kick the ball a few times, they’ll get bored and play among themselves~.

And 30 minutes later.

Having underestimated the kids’ stamina, I was the first to collapse.

“……This is strange…….”

Why don’t these kids get tired?

It seems that endless stamina is common to children in any world.

An adult can’t possibly beat kids in stamina.

It’s a natural truth.

* * *

‘It’ watched them and pondered.

(They are strange beings.)

There have been several who desperately pushed their way in here.

Humans who came simply for looting, or humans who came for other purposes.

But the humans who have come recently are a bit different.

A group made up of other races such as elves and beastkins.

And the most heterogeneous of them is that boy who came in last.

It has been an immeasurable amount of time since ‘it’ watched humans come and go from this place, and the recent trend was unprecedented.

(What should I do?)

‘It’ decided to watch for a while, pondering.

It’s okay.

No matter who comes, nothing will change anyway.

And they don’t recognize its existence.

There’s no way they’ll notice.

At least they won’t be the existence ‘it’ has been waiting for.

(Well, nothing changes no matter who comes.)

With that conviction, ‘it’ decided to watch more closely.

* * *

“Ughhhhh…… I can’t do it anymore. I surrender! I surrenderrrrrr!”

Eventually, feeling my stamina completely drained, I just collapsed and rolled around, feeling like whatever happens, happens.

Ah. I want to roll around like a ball, a ball…….

No, never mind the ball. Balls get kicked!

I was lying on the ground rolling around, and the kids were already playing well among themselves, not even caring about the pathetic oppa [older brother/term of endearment].

Have I been forgotten?

……I’m alive!

“Where does that stamina come from? Youth…… is it really youth…….”

I’m still young, too.

As I was sighing while lying down.

“……What?”

I turned my head without much thought and discovered something strange.

Someone is there.

I feel a gaze.

At first, I thought it might be Dires or someone else among the other races watching my actions, but it didn’t seem like them.

Besides, recently they have become much less wary of me, so they don’t secretly watch me.

If they have something to say, they’ll just come and ask me directly.

“Aileen? What are you doing?”

Yes, just like that young man Dires, who came and spoke to me as if he was dumbfounded.

“What else? I’m resting.”

“……Are you kidding me?”

“Well, I was playing with those kids and ran out of stamina, so I’m enjoying a break.”

“Ah…… I see.”

Seeing that he understood, I wondered if that young man had also been through something like me.

“By the way, Dires? I want to ask you something, is there anyone over there?”

“……What do you mean, Aileen?”

Dires looked like he didn’t understand my question at all.

“There shouldn’t be anyone there?”

“……I guess not.”

“……Why?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Yes. I guess I was just mistaken.”

Anyway, I’ll be resting here, so call me if you need anything~.

I waved my hand appropriately and rolled around again, and Dires finally got tired of nagging me and went somewhere.

And I rolled around and stared at the same place as before.

“……As I thought.”

With conviction, I immediately used Transfer [a teleportation skill].

Dires said there was no one there, but strangely, I felt a gaze from over there.

There’s a high possibility that I’m mistaken.

I’m not particularly good at sensing things like other skilled people, and I often miss.

Even considering that, I can’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

It’s good to check in times like these.

And sure enough.

Unlike what Dires said earlier, as soon as I transferred, I saw the back of someone’s head.

‘……Wait? That…… no, she is…….’

As I recognized her appearance and opened my eyes in shock, she noticed me, who was also watching her, and turned around in surprise.

[Uwaaaaaaat?! You suddenly popped out…….]

“……No, you shouldn’t be saying that. More than that.”

I couldn’t speak for a while, rubbing my eyes and looking again.

There’s no mistake.

I thought her face looked strangely familiar, and I realized why.

“…….”

The corpse that held that magic book.

Isn’t there a ghost that looks exactly like that girl’s face?

Was her name Asilla?

[Uwaaaaaaaaat?! H, how?!]

What’s strange is that the ghost girl was surprised on her own and was flustered.

Isn’t it usually the living person who should be surprised?

[Unbelievable!]

The problem is that she’s trying to run away.

Wait? Do I need to let her go?

If it were an ordinary ghost or monster, I wouldn’t care whether to get rid of it or let it go.

But isn’t that the ghost who is presumed to be the owner of this relic tower?

‘In the first place, I doubt that ghosts really exist…….’

Moreover, I’m concerned about why only I noticed her, but I have no intention of letting her go.

I tried to use Space Fix [a skill to immobilize space] to stop her.

Whoosh.

She passed through it so lightly.

‘……I made a mistake.’

Since she’s an incorporeal being, there’s no way she’d collide with a fixed space.

‘Wait? Then can’t I catch her?’

Even if I search the original work, there was no way to deal with ghosts.

Well, there are many ways to get rid of similar monsters, but there’s no need to get rid of her.

Above all, it would be a big problem if I did.