Side: Villia
Stretching out before me is a dark corridor where I can't see far into the depths. A damp, unpleasant air hangs in the atmosphere.
"Uuu..."
I am currently in the children's dungeon.
Onii-sama, I'm scared.
"You don't have to be that afraid; it's okay. If it's you, Villia, you can do this."
Yuki-oniisama says this as he gently strokes my head.
But scary things are still scary.
"Onee, you're such a scaredy-cat."
Hiiro says that and criticizes me, but she herself is clutching onto Onii-sama's clothes and won't let go.
"Hiiro, let go of that."
"No."
"Why not?"
"I never said I wasn't scared."
This child!!
"Ith hurt, ith hurt. Onii, Onee is bullying me."
"What!? Onii-sama, this is... this is discipline!!"
"I know. But try to be a little gentler, okay? Hiiro, don't be so selfish either."
"Onii... okay."
"Why do you listen to Onii-sama and not me!?"
"Because you had different emotions mixed in."
"Ugh!?"
It's not like I'm jealous... I'm not jealous at all.
"Alright, I've got it. If you do well today, we'll have a sleepover tonight."
"Really!?"
"...I'll do my best."
Hiiro immediately lets go of his clothes and starts walking ahead of me.
"Onee, you're slow. Let's clear this dungeon quickly and have our sleepover."
"You're so quick to change your tune!!"
I say that as I chase after Hiiro and enter the dungeon.
"Well then, Villia, Hiiro... it'll be tough, but do your best for me."
I heard Onii-sama mutter those words behind us.
* * *
"Listen closely. Monsters are very, very scary creatures. Because of monsters, countless lives have been lost, and villages, towns, and even entire countries have been destroyed."
Right now, our class, 3-1, is studying monsters.
It's already been about two months since we came to this dungeon and started school. Many children have come to this school. Those of us who came from Roshure were recognized as having a certain level of academic ability thanks to Yuki-sensei, so we were able to become third-graders.
Of course, there were some children who found it difficult to advance, but Yuki-sensei taught them carefully, and everyone made it up.
It seems even Yuki-sensei didn't expect us to reach this level of ability in just two months. I remember him telling children who were struggling with their studies that he used to hate studying himself, as he helped them along. Simple addition and subtraction are easy now. We can also read and write simple letters.
He said this speed is abnormal, but then added, "Maybe it's because you already vaguely understood the meanings of the words?" I don't understand the difficult parts, but there were some letters I knew and some I didn't. When you live in the slums, you naturally learn the letters you have to know. Also, everyone learned the letters they see frequently relatively quickly.
Yuki-sensei always wears a somewhat complicated expression when he sees us working so hard on our studies.
'Children should be playing, first and foremost...'
'Isn't it hard, doing nothing but studying?'
He asks us things like that often.
But studying isn't a burden for us. Well, some kids aren't good at it, but Yuki-sensei told us that if we study hard here, it will surely be useful later.
'Someday, if you guys are willing, let's work together to make this dungeon a better place. Of course, being an adventurer or a merchant and traveling to other villages, towns, and countries is a wonderful dream, too.'
Our lives were saved by Yuki-sensei. Everyone wants to be useful to Onii-sama, who gave us warm beds and food. But Onii-sama never tells us to be useful to him. He always says it's "for everyone."
'One for all, all for one, and everyone will prosper.'
That's the strange phrase Onii-sama taught us.
If everyone works for one person, and one person works for everyone, then everyone can be happy. I think it's a wonderful idea, but Sensei said that putting these words into practice is very difficult. That's why we secretly decided: we will study hard to be useful to Onii-sama. We will prove that "Dai-ichi Dai-man Dai-kichi" can be achieve.
"...chan? Villia-chan? Were you listening?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I wasn't listening."
Lost in thought, I didn't realize Rurua-sensei was calling me.
"Are you okay? If you're feeling unwell, please tell me."
"I'm fine."
This Rurua-sensei... you'll be surprised to hear this, but she was a Saintess in the Rithea Holy Kingdom!!
Apparently, for various reasons, she ended up living in this dungeon, and she mainly works at the hospital and the school. She's a bit like Yuki-sensei—an amazing person who balances many different roles... Her chest is also very large. She truly is a Saintess.
"Anyway, I got off track. Monsters naturally attack living things in order to survive. Monsters like those in this dungeon, who are said to be friendly and possess speech and intelligence, are a very small minority. While it's possible to bring monsters under one's control with a Tamer skill, they aren't given true freedom like the ones here."
Rurua-sensei continues her talk on monsters. Many children are looking puzzled, as if thinking, So outside monsters really attack people? Very few children at this age have ever encountered a monster. Normally, you don't go to places where monsters appear until you're much older.
"Muu, maybe I'm being too soft with my words. They attack. There is no mistake about that. However, in this case, being 'attacked' means death."
"""!?"""
We all looked shocked, and Rurua-sensei nodded.
"No, if it was just dying, that might be better. There are many types of monsters. For example, the Giant Spider will lay eggs inside of us humans so that their children can use us for their hatching and their first meal."
"Hie."
One child let out a scream. Yes, because it's very scary.
"For women especially, please do not think you can simply die easily when facing a monster. Even if you die... the Goblins, Orcs, and Kobolds in the security force here are capable of interbreeding with almost any creature. In other words, they will use a woman to get her pregnant and increase their numbers, using her until she dies. Of course, it doesn't matter if you're an adult or a child. If you're used and get pregnant, that's fine; if you don't, you'll just be violated forever. Even if you die, you'll likely still be used for a while. In more ways than one."
When she said that, everyone fell silent. I had heard vague stories like that before, but hearing it seriously from Rurua-sensei made me realize clearly that it was the truth.
"If these words alone have made you realize the terror of monsters, that's good. Unlike this dungeon, monsters outside are truly dangerous. I believe some of you will one day leave the nest of this dungeon town. So, please, do not forget."
* * *
I am remembering those words now.
"Gehyahyahya!!"
In front of us was a Goblin that looked just like the ones in town, but was completely different. That small Goblin found us and immediately swung its club down.
"Kyaa!?"
I instinctively closed my eyes.
CLANG.
At the sound, I opened my eyes to see Onii-sama had deflected the club with his sword. Ah, he's so cool.
"Villia, I know it's scary, but you mustn't close your eyes. And all I can do is protect you; you and Hiiro are the ones who have to defeat that monster."
Onii-sama kept his eyes on the Goblin without letting his guard down. If it's just defeating it...
"Defeating it means killing it. I know it's hard, but you must deliver the finishing blow properly."
"...Eh?"
"Nii... that's a Goblin. Steve and the others' kin..."
Hiiro is right...
That's a Goblin, the same race as Steve and the others who always protect us...
"...No, it's not a comrade. Steve and his group would never raise a hand against you or the other children. Rurua taught you, didn't she? That is a monster."
"A monster."
"...Monster."
The small Goblin was surprised by Onii-sama's movement, but once it realized he wasn't attacking, it ignored him and lunged at us.
"Hmph!!"
Onii-sama stepped in and knocked the Goblin back. He protected us instantly. But he didn't counter-attack.
"Villia, Hiiro. You two have to defeat it. Kill it. If you don't, you'll be taken away as toys for the Goblins. They'll tear off your arms and legs."
"W-Wha..."
"..."
Even being told that, our bodies wouldn't move. It's scary. The fact that Onii-sama won't attack, wondering if our attacks will work, the fact that it's Steve's kin, the thought of being made into a toy, having limbs torn off, the pain, taking a life...
And because we were wasting time like that, the incident happened.
THUD.
A dull sound echoed. Onii-sama was down on one knee. He was covering his face with his hand.
A pool of blood was forming beneath him.
"Onii-sama!!"
"Nii...!"
The Goblin had stopped attacking us and was now focused on eliminating Onii-sama. It raised its club to strike him again while he was down.
No, stop. Don't kill Onii-sama!!
CLANK!!
I instinctively blocked the club with the sword I was holding. I was desperate. My only thought was that I wouldn't let Onii-sama be hurt anymore.
"HIIRO!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
"Gehyo!?"
SLASH!!
The sword Hiiro was holding separated the Goblin's head from its body.
Thump.
The head rolled away and seemed to be staring back at us.
"A-Ah, I... I..."
"...I killed it. I killed it..."
Both of us were in a daze. Before we knew it, Onii-sama was stroking our heads.
"It's okay. You did well. You saved me. So, it's okay."
"O-Onii-sama."
"...I killed Steve's kin."
We managed to force the words out in tiny, trembling voices.
""UWAWAAAAAAAANNN!!""
* * *
After that, Onii-sama held us tight as we wailed, and he carried us back outside.
I'm going to tell everyone at school about today. That Onii-sama got hurt because of us, that monsters are truly scary, that you need the resolve to take a life... and that we will absolutely be useful to Onii-sama, who is always carrying this kind of pain.
