CH 105

On the day of the long-awaited sports meet, Shirley woke up an hour earlier than she planned like a kid too excited for a trip. She quickly jumped out of bed to change out of her pajamas in a room barely illuminated by a not yet risen sun…….when her whole body froze in place.

“Eh, w-why……..? What’s going on!?”

A rare, upset cry leaked from her lips. She could be forgiven for her surprise as a curious sight had welcomed her……the clothes she had set aside for the sports meet had vanished.

“Everything was fine last night, so how in the world…….”

It turns out all of her clothes, even the spare set she kept inside her Hero’s Toolbox were gone as well. The only things she had left were the overexposed waitress uniform she wore before and the swimsuit that wasn’t any different from underwear. Obviously there’s no way she could wear either of these to the sports meet.

“I-I must hurry to the clothes store……no, that won’t work. They’re closed today because of the sports meet…….”

At this rate, she was going to be forced to attend the sports meet while still wearing her pajamas. She would never be able to live down such a shameful display. 

However, not going to the sports meet and supporting Sophie and Tio was simply not an option. She has to go even if it meant being forced to crawl the whole way there.

(Could I borrow some clothes from someone else……? No, the size wouldn’t fit…..!)

Wearing clothes that would be too loose or too tight wouldn’t be much better than attending in her pajamas. When she heads out in public, she is representing her daughters as their mother, and therefore her appearance had to be prim and tight. 

If it really came down to it, she could try throwing something together so she could attend. The other parent adventurers had apparently bombarded the dwarf blacksmith Dimros with requests for new armor after being drawn in by Canary’s prize. She was seriously planning on doing it as well, but it is unlikely that the stubborn dwarf would help her out since she is rushing in at the last minute outside of business hours.

“AaAaaaaa…….! What am I going to do…….”

She had to attend the sports meet to show her support. This year especially the memories are going to be more valuable since she would be participating alongside Sophie and Tio. It was impossible for her to simply see them off.

But if she goes out looking like this, her daughters are going to get mocked for having a weirdo mother who goes out while wearing her pajamas. That had to be avoided as well.

“Shirley, are you awake? You have a guest.”

Shirley held her head in her hands and writhed about her room. At that time, Martha knocked on her door.

Just as she wondered who could be visiting her this early in the morning, Leia opened the door and walked into the room. 

“Morning Shirley! …….um, is something wrong? I can’t say what you do in your own room, but you’re making a strange face anyway.”

“……nothing you need to worry about. More importantly, did you need something? I’m a bit busy at the moment.”

While she was a bit worried over what she must look like right now, with bigger fish to fry, Shirley decided to not mind it and quickly wrap this up.

“Right right, I was actually asked to give you some clothes to wear to the sports meet, so I had to come over before you leave.”

“……why does Leia…….? Are you also participating in the sports meet?”

Speaking of which, Shirley had heard that Leia’s childhood friend Cudd’s younger sister is currently a student at the school. That could count as a family relationship.

“Yeah, well. Anyway, here you go.”

Leia gave a thin confirmation while handing over the paper bag she was holding to Shirley. However after curiously inspecting the contents, Shirley’s demeanor became even graver than it had been before.

“……..what is this?”

“Huh? They’re just the clothes you’re supposed to wear right? That’s what I was told when they gave it to me.”

Leia answered sternly implying she really had no idea what was going on. Shirley didn’t think she was lying, but her thoughts were an utter mess at the moment.

The paper bag held a set of clothes she had been so desperate for just a moment before. However it’s because it is today that she would be wearing this. In other words, wearing clothes this embarrassing would normally be absolutely impossible for her.

“But jeez, I sure was surprised. I never thought Shirley would just jump on in to this. But thanks to you, I’m sure the morale of the guys on the red team will rise up all at once!”

Shirley had no idea what the half-elf girl in front of her was talking about. She managed to understand that without her consent she had somehow become involved in something she had no knowledge about, but between all of her clothes disappearing and Leia magically showing up with this outfit, a small inkling in her mind solidified into a logical conviction.

The whole situation was strange to begin with. Even while she is sleeping Shirley is capable of easily sensing the presence of those around her, and yet someone had managed to sneak into her room and steal all of her clothes. They had even managed to break into her Hero’s Toolbox, a technique only Shirley should have been able to use…….there was probably only one person in the world who could have done all that. The person who was quite familiar with space magic and had actually invented the Hero’s Toolbox to begin with.

“C……..CANARYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!”

That morning, the whole inn shook beneath the usually quiet Shirley’s booming voice.

♠

The spacious sports field was filled with the voices of children and adventurers alike.  It’s been a long time since this land was first cultivated allowing the town to be built and the school along with it, but this is still probably the first time a scene like this has ever unfolded way out here.

“There are more adventurers here than I thought.”

“Mm. This is the power of the guildmaster’s voice.”

News of the rewards Canary was promising to the adventurers on the winning side of the sports meet had spread throughout the town. As a result, the students’ parents who happened to be adventurers introduced other adventurers, and soon the whole affair became too big to be considered a simple school event.

As if to prove this fact, the adventurers were more excited to get started than the children who this day is supposed to be about.

“Heh…….you’re a pretty childish guy, buying a new set of armor just for a children’s sports meet.”

“I heard you learned a couple new spells just for today. The other mages too. What’s wrong with doing this much?”

“Hold on you over there!? Explosives are strictly prohibited on school grounds!”

“Eh? But……I was thinking I could just blow the red team away with this……..”

Although, it’s also becoming a bit too dangerous to be called a festival as a result.

It’s easy to guess what the sports meet is going to devolve into at this rate. Once the parent competition begins, it’ll blow up into an all-out war between the greedy adventurers.

“Everyone’s looking to participate. Even the A-rank adventurers who’ve been spending all their time hunting monsters so no urgent requests would come in.”

“I see what you mean……and they’re all looking to win today.”

Kyle and Cudd stood to the side, but even they had bought new equipment in anticipation for the prospective rewards. Kyle had a shield enchanted with magic that could form a barrier after pouring in a small amount of mana, and Cudd picked out a new pair of boots enchanted with magic that could propel him forward after creating a burst of wind.

“I was really hoping to spend my money on a new weapon, but it was impossible.”

Canary provided all the adventurers participating in the parents’ competition with some cursed equipment that “can’t injure anybody no matter how many times you try and stab someone with it.”

Steps were taken to ensure that no child would end up seeing bloodshed or broken bones, and a barrier was set up between the sports field and the spectators’ seats to protect the parents and children from any stray spells. Apparently there was also some strange kind of spell cast on the field itself that Kyle and Cudd didn’t really understand that somehow made it so “no matter what kind of magic you cast, it will be unable to hurt anyone.”

They tried testing it out when they first got here by lighting a small fire with magic and pressed it into the palm of their hands. It was still hot, but it didn’t burn their skin. The fact that such amazing magic was being used for a school sports festival was very Canary-like.

“Yahoo~, Bro.”

“Brother, you came.”

At that time a girl wearing a track suit came running up to Kyle while waving her hand, and another black-haired girl wearing the same clothes followed closely behind her. It was Chelsea, Kyle’s little sister who lived in the same orphanage as him and Mira, Cudd’s blood-related little sister.

“Ah, it’s Kyle and Cudd.”

Sophie and Tio appeared from behind the two girls shortly after. The two were close by, and after casually walking over to join Chelsea and Mira, they gave Kyle and Cudd a small bow.

“Mira and Chelsea said they didn’t know if anyone could come for them because their parents and the priest were all busy…..but it’s good to see their brothers could come instead.”

“Yeah~. Honestly I wasn’t expecting much to be honest. Bro and his friends are always so busy.”

“Nonsense. Of course I would rush over to cheer for my sister.”

It sure is a small world. Kyle and Cudd had the same thought upon learning that Sophie and Tio were friends with Chelsea and Mira.

Sure they might all live in the same village and be around the same age, but it still seems unlikely that your younger sister would end up being close friends with your party members’ younger sisters as well because of pure coincidence.

“Um……have either of you seen Mama yet?”

“We haven’t seen her all day. When we woke up, we found a message saying she had left ahead of us and telling us to eat breakfast.”

“What? Shirley, didn’t come with you?”

Kyle and Cudd had heard that Shirley was going to come to school early so she could set up several cameras around the field before anything started. Thanks to the 《Guardian Treasure Sword》 Radun, she was able to create a magical barrier that would allow her get the view from anywhere inside the parents’ seating, but it still isn’t like her to keep her daughters in the dark like this.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t Leia come with you Brother?”

“No……she said she had something to do and left early this morning too.”

First Shirley, now Leia is missing as well. It might be a coincidence, but both of them vanishing one after another made them wonder if something had happened.

But just as Kyle was about to suggest they all try looking for them, the sound of two familiar voices made their way to the group’s ears from behind one of the school building’s walls.

“I can’t…..! It’s absolutely impossible…..! Appearing out in public like this is…….!”

“You worry too much! It suits you!”

“I don’t care whether it looks good on me or not……! I-I really should grab a curtain to cover myself up…….!”

“That’s going to make you look even more ridiculous. Just be confident! C’mon, look! Sophie and Tio are looking for you!”

“Hold on, please wait! I can’t let them see me in such an embarrassing getup…….!!”

*Bam!* A second later, two figures jumped out of the shadows. Or well, one figure dragged the other figure out. Sophie, Tio, and all their friends locked their gazes onto the newly emerged Shirley and Leia.

“Ah! Mama, there you are……..”

“Did something happen? That outfit”

However what was there wasn’t the usual neat and clean mother Sophie and Tio were used to. A thin white top that completely showed off her shoulders and exposed her navel and milky white waist. A miniskirt that showed off her long, slender legs, yet was so short it threatened to reveal her underwear at any moment. Sophie and Tio could describe their mother’s new look as avant-garde if they wanted to, or if they were feeling blunt, they could say their mother was simply very lightly dressed. And for some reason, in both of her hands were some kind of ball-shaped tuft dyed a bright crimson color.

“J-Jeez…….please just kill me……..!”

Exposed to the probing eyes of the crowd, Shirley’s face and ears turned a bright red as she hugged her arms and did her best to hide her body.