Chapter 195: Phonia’s Counterattack
“Well then, that’s settled. We’ll wait for Phonia at the inn.”
“…Huh?”
The man who had been angry just moments ago seemed taken aback, his expression shifting back to a serious one.
“Wait, what!?”
He called out as we passed by, but I ignored him completely.
“There’s no way that little girl can make it back on her own!”
True, she is small, but she’s a five-tailed Mystic Fox after all. With Nil by her side, she’s probably the strongest among all the Adventurers here.
“Oh, Ivan-nii!”
As I shrugged and headed toward the inn, I heard Phonia’s voice calling from behind. It seemed she had already come outside. When I turned around, the man looked surprised and quickly faced Phonia.
I had thought she might be held back, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“What are those guys doing!?”
He muttered under his breath, clearly frustrated that Phonia had come out alone. It seemed his companions had failed to keep her from leaving. With his arms wide open, the man slowly approached Phonia.
“…It’s dangerous to come out alone. I told you to bring someone to escort you, didn’t I?”
The person meant to escort her was right in front of him, but perhaps he was saying it on purpose. I glanced back at Ivan, but he didn’t seem inclined to intervene.
“Humph! I can go home by myself!”
Phonia, clutching Nil against her chest, puffed out her cheeks in protest. From this angle, she looked like a child holding a plush toy. As Phonia emerged, a few more onlookers gathered, curious about the commotion.
“It’s dangerous outside, so let’s go back for now.”
“No way! …You’re just getting in the way, aren’t you?”
For a brief moment, a dangerous glint flickered in Phonia’s eyes. The man, completely oblivious, reached out toward her. But Phonia swiftly dodged and charged at him, shoulder first.
“Guhoooohhh!!!”
He let out a strange sound as he was sent flying about three meters toward us. The sight of the small Phonia knocking him back drew gasps from the onlookers.
“I told you it was unnecessary interference, didn’t I?”
“…!”
I remarked to the man, who had rolled to my feet, but he seemed unable to respond, clutching his chest. Phonia’s impact must have been quite strong. Perhaps he needed to train a bit more.
“Big brother!”
Phonia noticed me and approached, her tail wagging happily.
“Wafuu!”
Nil seemed to be saying, “Praise her, praise her!” but I was sure he had been watching over Phonia just fine.
“Welcome back, Phonia.”
“Dessert!”
Ignoring Ivan’s words, Phonia dashed straight toward me, her first exclamation being about dessert. While it was great that dessert motivated her, I wondered how it would affect our conversation.
“Ahahaha! Welcome back, Phonia-chan!”
Laila-san was petting Phonia’s head while casting a sidelong glance at Ivan, who was grumbling. I reached out to Nil, giving him a good, fluffy cuddle.
“Haha! So, shall we head back for dinner and dessert?”
“Yes! I didn’t get caught by anyone!”
“Oh, really? That’s impressive.”
Puffing out her chest with pride, she began to recount how she managed to escape. None of us had expected her to get caught in the first place, so we simply watched her with warm smiles.
To summarize Phonia’s story, it seemed the man had approached her right after she left the Guild. He was someone she recognized, and since he promised to buy her food, she happily followed him to a cheap tavern.
“From now on, if someone you know calls out to you, make sure to consult with us first.”
“Right. We can always communicate telepathically, after all.”
“Got it… I understand now!”
“Telepathy is incredibly convenient…”
Ivan sighed, and I couldn’t help but agree. While it doesn’t work over long distances, it was still effective for several kilometers. If combined with Spatial Magic, communication could be maintained over considerable distances. As long as you marked and remembered a person instead of coordinates, you could communicate across space. In fact, I still wasn’t sure if there was a distance at which communication would fail when used in conjunction.
“Welcome back.”
Before I knew it, Laila-san was already waiting at the inn’s entrance.
“Thank you for having me back.”
“The meal is ready, but what would you like to do?”
“Food!”
Before I could even think about it, Phonia’s voice rang out. Laila-san looked at me as if to confirm that was acceptable, and I nodded in response.
“Hehe, understood. I’ll bring the meal to your room.”
With that, Laila-san quietly slipped back inside the inn.
“I’m starving! Food, food!”
“I’m hungry!”
Though we had eaten lunch, spending the entire day working in the mine had left us quite hungry. Thanks to Ivan and Phonia, I hadn’t lost track of time, but we had still spent a significant amount of time in the mine.
…But I felt a bit guilty about Phonia, so I decided I should be more mindful in the future.