Published at 5th of January 2021 02:15:45 PM

254 Escape Guide

At the moment, the inside of the cave is calm.

Were no longer leaving right away and are staying here for now instead. At this rate, well be able to recover our MP in here. By the time the guard changes shift in the evening, well have plenty of MP to humanise again.

Having the sacrifices guide us should be more reliable, and well be able to surprise the manticore this way. When searching for it, Id like to avoid being noticed first, or letting the villagers see me and cause trouble. So far our interactions have gone okay, but thats because weve been interacting with children who have yet to solidify their worldviews, so I cant imagine it would go so well with adults.

The atmosphere in the cave is worse than when we were humanised. The children are watching cautiously while maintaining their distance.

The eldest girl from earlier is sitting closest to me. Its as if shes not frightened, but rather it looks more like shes taking responsibility for what she said earlier.

My MP is gradually recovering as we rest. At this rate, well be full in a few hours. That should be fast enough to fight the manticore. If nothing unexpected occurs, we should be able to be led to the manticore without problem.

Dragon-godsama, umm, you, why exactly are you in here? You could break out at any time Even now

The eldest girl timidly calls out.

I could use Humanisation Technique to explain, but I want to focus on recovering my MP. Shell have to figure it out from the results. If I humanise to answer each of her questions, then if Im unable to humanise when the guard checks on us, I wont be able to look her in the eyes.

I reach out with my foreleg and scratch the ground.

The manticores appearance flashes into my mind. Umm A leopard-like body And a head thats a cross between a human and a lion

I draw the manticore with my claw as Im recalling. But the lines are rough, making it looks like a childs drawing.

I used to be able to make pottery. I really have become clumsy. Im using a forefoot, not a hand after all, so theres no helping it. Well, I can always humanise to become more dexterous.

The girl doesnt seem to understand my drawing, as shes frowning and tilting her head.

I add a tail to the drawing, and a stinger on the end of it. Manticore? she mutters, finally understanding. That tail is its characteristic feature after all.

I nod, taking care not to bump into the ceiling. I then stab my claw into the manticores body, gouging the ground. The girl raises her head, looking into my eyes.

Are you going to defeat the manticore?

She asks, searchingly. She seems to have some doubts.

Guoh

I growl and nod in reply, and the girls expression crumbles as she gulps.

She might have covered for me earlier, but that doesnt mean she completely trusts me either. It conflicts with what shes been taught all her life, so shes not going to be so readily convinced. But Im just grateful for her that she created an atmosphere that lets me stay.

From then on, time passes in the uncomfortable atmosphere. I lie with my belly on the ground as I focus on recovering my magic power.

While my partner is sleeping with her eyes closed, I am observing the other children through half-open eyes They seem to be putting on a brave front, but theres no way theyre not bothered by me. Theyre surrounding the eldest girl and myself, watching over us.

Eventually, the cave is dyed the colour of the setting sun, red light filtering in through the ceiling.

My MP has long been filled. All thats left to do is wait for the guard to change, then go and beat up the manticore. This time, I wont let it get away.

I hear the sound of footsteps above the cave.

Finally, the change of guard has arrived. I should humanise. Im counting on you again, partner.

Theyre earlier than normal.

The eldest girl whispers that to me.

I hear the clunking sound of something being struck above the cave. I look up to see something swinging down from a gap in the ceiling.

Wh-what are they doing? Could someone have come to rescue us? From what she said, theres a good chance its not the guard.

That reminds me, Yarg and Tatark worked together to move the boulder covering the entrance. Meaning someone is trying to get in by themself this time.

N-no, thats great, but please come on a different day! Its admirable that you want to come save girls who are being sacrificed. Just dont come when Im already here! Ill save them, you know? Ill defeat the manticore in front of them!

For that matter, whats the guard doing! Isnt he here for times like this?! Whats happening? Is there someone pulling the strings from the shadows to get in my way!?

Panicking, I activate Humanisation Technique. Heat runs through my body as it shrinks.

I focus my attention on my head, which I smoothly make sink into my body. The world becomes dark, and then Im sharing my partners vision again. Nice, it seems Ive gotten better at controlling it.

I lose control of my body as my partner starts to move it.

Normal skill [Humanisation Technique] has risen from level 7 to 8.

Visit readel.me for extra chapters.

Ah, it went up. Weve been using it lots today after all

My partner touches her head as she shakes her neck, checking her body. When we returned to dragon form earlier, she hurriedly took off her clothes, making them even more ragged and torn than before Perhaps we should have stripped a bit more carefully. No, we were in a hurry, so it couldnt have been helped.

Like before, something strikes the ceiling, and fragments of rocks fall. The gap opens wide enough, and evening light shines into the cave. A spotlight of red light shines down into the centre.

O-oi, listen up!

I hear a voice from above the hole.

For that matter, this voice is The person peering down through the hole is the guard, Tatark.

Its you! That explains why the guard wasnt doing his job.

That reminds me, didnt he say that Tatarks an outsider and that his personality wasnt suited for the task? Isnt this a complete failure of personnel selection?

Including the girl with miko blood, all the key figures are having a meeting in the village right now! Even if you make some suspicious movements, they wont notice anything until later! Get away from here while you can!

Upon hearing the voice, the inside of the cave suddenly becomes noisy.

B-but

Even if we run, where

The girls let out sounds of confusion.

Go to the dragon-god village! I, I heard earlier! The dragon-god has returned to that village!

Hearing Tatarks voice, all of the girls turn to look at my partner in unison. N-no, I understand your feelings, but it looks suspicious so please stop.

Probably, the dragon-god drove the manticore off! Thats why the manticore came to the smaller village! If you go there, you should be safe! Ive been there, so I know! I cant think of any other reason why the manticore would come over here where theres less people.

Thatll be what he meant by outsider. Tatark came here from the dragon-god village.

Adults aside, they wouldnt leave children to die! There might be some opposition, but Please, believe in me!

Originally, the village split because of a distrust in the dragon-gods power. As Tatark says, returning to the village under the protection of the dragon-god is the most sensible way for the humans of this village to escape the manticore.

Though thats contingent on the people of that village letting them in, of course. Thinking back to the dragon-god mikos conduct earlier, I can tell they have some degree of resentment for the people of this village. Thatll be why Tatark said adults aside, Im guessing.

Hearing Tatarks voice, the girls start making noise.

Drove away the manticore?

Um, the manticore is?

While saying this, theyre staring forcefully at my partner.

Since the dragon-god gave up on fighting the manticore once before, the dragon-god should be weaker than it. Thatll also be why the manticore jumped at me right away when it first saw me; it must have wanted to punish the dragon-god for misjudging its strength and loitering around its home.

The eldest girl looks at me in astonishment before dropping her gaze to my scrawl from earlier.