Chapter 179-3

Chapter 179-3

[Part 3/4]

"Big brother, I'm sorry! Shirona will apologize a lot!? So please don't say scary things anymore!? Shirona will work hard to help you!? So, so, please stop! I'm begging you, don't be mean anymore...!!?"

Overwhelmed with emotion, tears quickly welled up in her eyes as she confessed. She apologized, sought atonement, and begged for forgiveness with desperate love and pleading.

...Those words were clear proof that she didn't fully understand the situation.

"Shut up! I told you to be quiet, you fox girl...!!?"

"Higuh!?"

At the loud shout, the child trembled and fell silent. She let out small, hiccup-like sounds, sniffling and with her eyes already red and swollen. Her mouth was open in a daze. It seemed like she couldn't fully believe in my presence, as if she couldn't recognize it. She looked like her thoughts had stopped.

"...Shirona? What's wrong?"

My mother woke up sleepily from our conversation. A smile appeared on my sister's face as if she had gained reinforcements. My mother, who had been deeply asleep and seemed a bit grumpy, rubbed her eyes.

"Um, um! Mom! Big brother...!!"

My sister clung to my mother and began explaining. She did so clumsily and hesitantly, desperately trying to get her point across. My mother only caught part of what my sister was saying. Her eyes widened as if she understood, and she slowly turned to look at me. With a complex expression, she opened her mouth.

"...You're planning to, aren't you?"

My adoptive parent asked, squeezing the words out. I smirked.

"Am I ungrateful and bad?"

"...Yes. You're very bad."

When I answered playfully, she looked down and fell silent for a moment... then heavily nodded in agreement.

"To be honest, I wasn't scared at all when Mother scolded me. That's why it turned out like this."

"Eh...!?"

I threw out those words like a parting shot and turned my heels toward the cave exit. Shirona's shocked voice overflowed.

"Mom!? Is it okay, Mom!? Big brother is... he's leaving!!?"

I looked back at my mother and the white fox, both in shock, unable to believe what was happening. The white fox shook my mother, desperately pleading.

"Mom!? Mom!? Are you sleepy!!? Big brother is going to disappear!? Our family won't be together anymore!!?"

"Shirona, your brother... he's not your brother anymore. Forget about him."

"What are you saying!? That's crazy!? Both big brother and mom are acting weird!!? This is, this is...!?"

Shirona raised her voice, unable to accept my mother's words. She looked at my back as I walked away and tried to follow me. She stumbled from the pain in her feet, falling to all 4s, clinging to me.

"Big brother, big brother!!? Why are you leaving!? Big brother, big brother!? Shirona just fell!? It hurts!? Comfort me!!? Play with me like always!! Why, why...!!?"

"..."

But he didn’t let his guard down. The lead bullet soaked in poison might not be enough against a youkai. He held his matchlock gun in one hand and drew a blade from his waist. He threw it, then stabbed with the blade. There was no reaction...

"...?"

However, he felt that something was off. He kicked the doll that was looking down and then knocked away the hat. The hollow face that was exposed was not a corpse but just a solid chunk of snow.

"Wha!?"

He hurriedly pull off the raincoat. Red liquid spills from the pouch. It's juice made from crushed winter strawberries mixed with water. It drips down from the hole made by the bullet, looking like blood.

"Damn it, you brat...!?"

Realizing he’s been set up, he turns on his heel, desperately searching for footprints. Where? Where were they disguised? How far did they escape!? The hunter stares wide-eyed at the snow, scanning every inch.

So he doesn’t notice. The figure crawling out from under the kicked snow doll.

So he can’t see. The figure, me, ready to attack from behind with a stone in hand.

With suppressed killing intent and malice, I creep closer and closer, and then...

"Damn...!?"

"Damn it!!?"

Before I can smash a fist-sized stone into the back of the hunter's head, he turns around and fires. It was a good call to put the stone in front of his face. The stone shatters. The fragments cut his skin. But I don't care. I still have...!

"Die...!!"

I pull out my te-kama for harvesting rice, I swing it back and forth. There's no hesitation. I don't have time to hesitate. I have to kill this expert tracker. If I don't, if I don't...!!

"Don't underestimate me!!"

The hunter, wielding a close-combat wakizashi (a short sword), clashes with my te-kama (a hand-held sickle) in a tense struggle. The sound of clashing metal echoes, and we both are thrown back by the force of the impact. However, the difference in our physiques becomes apparent. While I stumble and fall, the hunter maintains his stance and prepares for the next move. It’s clear that facing him head-on would be futile. A seasoned hunter, skilled in dealing with both poor brat and youkai has the upper hand.

"Damn it, damn it...!!"

I turn my back and flee at full speed. There’s no point in fighting a battle with no chance of victory. In fact, fleeing is crucial for my goals. I can’t afford to die here.

At the very least, I need to act as a decoy to separate the pursuers from the two I’m trying to protect...

"!!?"

I glance back briefly to assess the situation. I gasp at the hunter’s movements. His readiness tells me exactly what I need to do.

"Ugh...!?"

A gunshot rings out. I duck down, feeling the bullet brush past my head. I quickly get up and run, using the trees as cover. The matchlock gun cannot fire rapidly. The challenge is to ensure that the hunter does not lose sight of me. I need to stay just out of reach, to draw the hunter away from the cave where my mother and Shirona are hiding. If I can also lead the hunter’s companions away, that would be even better...