Three years passed since Alexei was abandoned in the Forest of the Devil. The woman he called Pie's body turned darker green and her skin was dull, but Alexei often touched her skin like that.
Ham, it's been a long time.
"That's not true. It feels so good to bluff.
"Yes, yes!
She smiled and put Alexei on her lap.
"I'm already big! You're nine.
Still a little bit small.
Alexei liked it on her lap, even though she said so. I feel much happier now than in a cold castle where nobody held me.
For the first time, Alexei knew his family, love.
"At first, I got along with the scared bunny, Fuku-chan, and Tiger. Ham, I'll do my best."
When he first came to live in the Forest of the Devil, Alexei was devoured and killed by a third red bear, making the beast terrible.
However, seeing her getting along with the Beasts in the absence of Alexei, over the course of a year, she became close to the Beast, even though it was large enough from a human point of view to be a relatively small one, such as a double-pointed rabbit or a fire-blowing owl. And it took me another year to build a friendship with them. Except for the third red bear.
"How to name a pie is appropriate."
"Really? Ola, I think it's a good name."
"No, because it's a double-breasted rabbit, it's a bunny."
Nikaku-chan was better, right? Yeah, it's rounded, so Maru-chan is nice too. "
"Shouldn't I usually wear Dmitry or Tasha?
Although it was a casual suggestion, she looked a little sad. However, because the skin looks like a slime, ordinary people will not know the expression.
"... Ola, when I lived in the village, I got angry when I called her by her name. They say you're going to be cursed. That's why I couldn't name a human somehow. If my children were cursed, they would be poor."
"That's not true! Pie is sweeter than anyone! I love pie!
"Thank you. But the people in the village said they would be cursed because I was a cursed bakemon."
That's just coward bullshit.
"Ham knows the hard words very well. I don't know about Tawagoto, but thank you for being angry with me. Ola, I was happy."
Alexei discriminated against her kindly, felt intense anger at the grieving villagers, and resented the world for being discriminated against in appearance and status.
Then she suddenly stood up, silently staring at the ground for a while.
"Ham! Ham! The creatures in the woods are crazy. Something's wrong! What's the matter with you?
The sky suddenly darkened, and when I looked up, many winged Demon Beasts flew north to block the day. And while the earth resonates, many beasts are still running north.
The beasts she loved as a child were pulling her skirt and heading north as well.
"What are you guys up to? Something wrong with you?
The next moment, an incredible amount of light was thrown around.
When she opened her eyes after the light had subsided, there were no magical beasts who were supposed to have been flying in the sky, and she could see the bright blue sky.
And all the beasts that were near them were down.
"Rabbit, Fuku-chan, what's up?
She approaches and shakes the beasts.
……
The beasts were dead. If you look closely, there are beast carcasses rolling over there.
She called out to Alexei in her arms.
"Is Ham okay?
Uh-huh.
"What happened...? Anyway, I don't want to get out of here. Ham, I'll protect you! Don't worry about it. It's okay."
I couldn't hide the shock in the death of the beast that I loved as my child, but Alexei was the only one I had to help. And as soon as I turned my heels back to the cave, I heard footsteps coming from the direction where the Beasts were headed.
It's not the footsteps of a beast. It's been a long time since Alexei heard the footsteps of his shoes. It's not even a few dozen people. There will probably be hundreds.
"Pie, humans are coming. And there are a lot of people."
"What was that about, Peg?
"... I don't know. Maybe he came to kill me."
"The Beasts are heading north. And yet, there are people coming here from the north without me? Anyway, run away!
But before he could escape, Alexei's men were surrounded by knights with swords and spears.
The Imperial Knights.
Alexei murmured.