Interlude: Phonia
“I want to fight too!”
I had been cheering for Ivan-nii as he battled the monsters, but then it hit me. Of course, I wanted Ivan-nii to become stronger, but I also needed to learn how to fight to protect him!
“Eh?”
“Phonia-chan!?”
Without hesitation, I dashed toward the approaching monster.
“Don’t bully Ivan-nii!”
As I ran closer, the monster turned to look at me. But if I stopped now, I wouldn’t be able to help Ivan-nii. I had to dodge its attacks and deliver a punch!
“Ow!”
“Phonia!?”
Just like that, I was sent flying by the monster’s swinging arm. It didn’t hurt too much, but maybe that meant Ivan-nii would be okay too.
“Phonia-chan, are you alright!?”
My older sister rushed over, worry etched on her face, but I felt fine.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Thank goodness… I thought you were fine because Shuu said so, but seeing it makes me worried after all…”
“Yeah, I get it. Sorry, I thought you were fine, but seeing it in person is tough. Watching a little girl get hit by a monster is hard on the heart.”
I didn’t quite understand, but it seemed like my brother and sister were really concerned about me.
“Damn it, I won’t let a single scratch touch Phonia!”
Ivan-nii was doing his best, and knowing the monster’s strength gave me a bit of relief. If things got dangerous, I could help Ivan-nii!
“It doesn’t hurt, so I’m fine. It wasn’t that strong.”
“Ahaha, that might be true.”
“And besides, Phonia has a status more suited for magic, so you don’t really need to go punch the enemy.”
“Magic! That’s right!”
My deceased mother had said that Mystic Foxes were skilled in magic. I remembered her casting fireballs with ease.
“Ah… but I don’t know how to do it.”
As I sulked and looked down, I felt gentle pats on my head. When I looked up, my brother was smiling down at me.
“Don’t worry. If it’s magic-related, Rio is really good at it, so you can ask her to teach you later.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll teach you, so it’s all good.”
I felt happy to be patted by my sister too.
“Thank you!”
Her kind smile reminded me of my mother, and I couldn’t help but leap into her arms. Even though she didn’t look much like my mother, there was something about her that felt comforting. I wasn’t sure why, but it made me feel safe. I loved my sister too, so everything would be alright, right?
“Haah, haah… Are you okay, Phonia…?”
Before I knew it, Ivan-nii had defeated the large monster.
“I did it! Ivan-nii, you’re amazing!”
I broke away from my sister and rushed over to Ivan-nii, who was placing a long stick on the ground and checking my body for injuries.
“Is there anywhere that hurts? Are you hurt?”
“Ahaha! I’m fine!”
Ivan-nii looked more tired than I felt, yet he was still worried about me. I couldn’t help but smile at the strange feeling that bubbled up inside me as he patted my head.
“Hehe.”
Going out to fight monsters meant everyone would pat me, and that made me happy. If I learned magic from my sister, would I get to defeat monsters too and receive even more pats?
“But let’s not rush out like that again; it’s dangerous.”
Just as I was feeling good from all the pats, my brother scolded me.
“That’s right. It’s not good to charge in without knowing the enemy’s strength.”
After hearing my sister say the same thing, I could only hang my head in shame.
“Yeah… I’m sorry.”
I had been so desperate to help Ivan-nii that I hadn’t thought things through. Just earlier, I had been thrown by the monster and realized it wasn’t that scary.
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Yeah. Phonia-chan is doing great.”
As I reflected on my actions, my sister praised me again.
“Oh! I need to gather Herbs too!”
I hadn’t forgotten! I came here to collect Herbs, and I remembered that I shouldn’t charge into enemies.
“Haha, that’s right. Phonia is great. I should gather some too…”
“Yeah! I’ll gather them with Ivan-nii!”
And so, I set off to collect Herbs, fulfilling my request! If I succeeded, I would earn money and get to eat delicious food, and it would be fun!