Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 182

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 182

To be fair, even I had no desire to cause trouble all the way out here in the Castrain Family’s territory.
After all, I was a guest. You had to respect the master’s wishes in someone else’s home.
Besides, this was Magic Beast-infested land—fences, barriers, patrol lines, soldiers standing watch everywhere. And if the soldiers got the wrong idea? Or if we were attacked by a Magic Beast?
-But still, it really does seem like this incident is because of you, Contract User…… (๑•﹏•)
‘Right. All this time, not a trace of those Divine Beast stragglers in Castrain Territory, and then suddenly something appears? Must be my fault as a Light Contract User…….’
Ah, my wretched luck! Trouble follows me everywhere I go! I suppose I should just resign myself to it.
At first, I considered asking someone’s permission. But Raymond and Lisianthus had already left their posts. Lisianthus went directly northwest, and Raymond stepped away to inspect things around the territory in case of emergency.
If I’d explained the situation in the meantime, everyone would’ve understood it was unavoidable. But I know Bibi would’ve woken up anyway, and she would’ve insisted on coming with me.
Thinking through all that took too long.
According to the sword, the trace of power it sensed was so faint it might dissipate any moment, so we had to leave immediately—and I couldn’t find any other way around it…….
So I couldn’t talk the other two out of following me. And here we are.
I wanted to leave Rasper behind no matter what, but damn it.
Wheeeeeee!
Shrieeeeek!
The whistle of wind cutting past our ears was sharp. Two mages gripped the mast pole on our makeshift snow-sled like it was a lifeline, trembling uncontrollably.
Their shaking looked like a pair of lambs that hadn’t eaten in three days. Pan let out a groan as if he’d crawled up from hell itself.
“This is insane, ahhhhh!”
“Ahaha, I’m not very skilled with Wind Force…….”
As if matching the beat, Rasper beside him hunched over and nearly retched.
“Ughhhh.”
“My, everyone’s quite motion sick.”
With help from Rasper and Pan, I retrieved the crude sled that Lisianthus had thrown together. Then, with assistance from those two talented mages, I rigged up something resembling a makeshift sail on the spot.
Thanks to Rasper memorizing the rough terrain of Castrain Territory, he managed to mark out an approximate route on our improvised map.
“T-turn left here, unhhhh!”
Even with his face drained to a sickly pallor, Rasper managed to point out the direction, and I grinned at him.
“Right! Left here!”
In the end, I’d set a sled atop the snow……. attached a sail, and was propelling it with my Wind Force, whooshing along.
I wondered if it would even work, but it did……. Using Wind Force artificially to slide across the snow seemed to have done a number on both Rasper and Pan. But I was actually having fun.
In any case, thanks to the help of two people more experienced than anyone else at sneaking around the Castrain Family grounds unseen, I managed to avoid detection and arrive at my destination riding a heavily modified sled. Once that modified sled—or boat-sled, whatever—came to a stop, Pan toppled over, and Rasper propped him up with trembling arms beside him.
“You both did well.”
I gave both their backs a gentle pat, hopped down from beneath the sled, and surveyed the situation. Everything was quiet. On the surface, there didn’t seem to be any Magic Beasts around…….
I glanced at the lantern hanging from the sled, then swung the sword I was holding through the air.
Right now, if even a single crazy deer charged us, I could probably deal with those two mages who’d gone half-mad from motion sickness in one blow.
‘Come on, shine bright, sparkle!’
Everything lit up. The surrounding landscape looked similar to how it had been before I’d gone out and had my fun.
-…But, but still, please don’t use precious Light Power just as a lantern substitute, Contract User!（￣□￣；）
‘I need to keep my hands free in case something happens.’
-Well, I can’t argue with that…….( ³⌓³)
‘Continue your search. We’ve come all this way—if there’s nothing here, it’ll be terribly, terribly, terribly boring. I will not accept anything like “Oh, we were mistaken~!” under any circumstances!’
The sword would find getting rolled around a winter stable or pigsty quite an educational experience, even if it wasn’t quite the laundry nightmare of a summer day in the Imperial Palace.
Or I could just soak it in a dishwater bucket. Noticing my jaw grinding, the sword suddenly answered in a panicked, flustered tone.
-W-well! It seems we need to enter that cave over there…….
I asked in the gentlest, sweetest voice I could muster, with just a hint of remorse.
“……. Looks like we need to go in there—think you’d be willing to accompany us, magnificent white-haired great mage?”
His hair was pink now, but calling him “Pink Hair” would only make him angrier. Pan barely managed to open his mouth, gagging slightly.
“Only when you need something do you butter me up……cough, cough.”
“I-I’m fine now! I’ll come too!”
“Rasper, I’d really appreciate it if you stayed here and kept watch over the sled. Can you set up a Temporary Barrier?”
“But wouldn’t it be more helpful if I came along…….”
“If we lose the sled, we’ll be in real danger. This is an important mission too. Alert us immediately if anything happens.”
I gave Rasper’s head a gentle pat. Still suffering from motion sickness, his eyes reddened, Rasper quietly nodded in agreement.
The cave was quite large. When I first spotted it, it hadn’t looked so big, but stepping inside revealed a fairly spacious, well-carved tunnel.
A cold chill rushed in. That said, it wasn’t comfortable enough to walk upright with shoulders back—far from it.
Crouching and crawling forward in an awkward crouch, Pan stopped and asked from behind me:
“W-why are we stopping?”
“……It’s blocked.”
“What?!”
And I stared intently at the glowing sword. Explain yourself, you thing.
-Ah, w-wait, Contract User, I sensed something here…… but why is it blocked……? That’s strange…?
‘Hmm.’
Then the solution was simple. I jabbed Pan with my elbow—or tried to, at least. In such a dark, narrow tunnel, what I meant as a gentle nudge ended up a bit more forceful than intended, and Pan shrieked out as if a cave bear had been roused from hibernation by an earthquake and had driven him from his own den, clutching at his ribs in pure anguish.
Here’s a mage old enough to know better, making such a fuss!
“Set up a Temporary Barrier for me.”
“Do you think I’m some kind of magic-dispensing machine?! Ow, it hurts like hell. Please, be more careful!”
“I’ll add more Gold Coins to your payment when we get back.”
“The barrier’s up.”
After confirming the Temporary Barrier had been set above and below us, I swung my sword against the blocked wall.
Bang! Crunch, crunch-crunch-crunch.
“What are you doing?! If this cave collapses, we’ll be buried alive…!”
“The genius boy Rasper will dig us out!”
“If he miscalculates even once, some limbs might get separated on the way out!”
“But we’ve got a Temporary Barrier set, so…….”
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Fine cracks appeared in the wall. I narrowed my eyes and touched the hard earthen surface.
Sure enough, this side showed signs of artificial construction. I gripped my sword tightly and drove it straight into the wall.
Light…… wouldn’t be much use here. So I compressed Wind Force and pushed it into the cracks. Crack, snap, bang!
The wall crumbled with a loud sound, sending fragments flying. Thanks to the barrier, we were safe from dirt and rocks. As the swirling dust and smoke cleared, the hidden space beyond was revealed.
And inside it…….
“…Huh. Are those all Magic Beast corpses, or—no, not corpses exactly, more like shells? What on earth is all this?”
“…….”
Magic Beast corpses, their insides completely desiccated, were scattered about like molted snakeskin or emptied lobster shells.
And in the center, there was something like a nest—tangled fur, feathers from all manner of beasts, and thread-like material of unknown origin.
-…Just as I thought.
The sword spoke in a dejected voice. I saw a small egg lying in the center of the nest.
‘Is that why its power was so faint—because it hadn’t hatched yet?’
-No, rather…… the parent Divine Beast was on the verge of disappearing. The hatchling doesn’t have enough strength to break the shell safely…….
The sword laid out its hypothesis roughly.
The Divine Beast’s existence hung by a thread—it had barely managed to endure in Castrain Territory where there were at least two or more Divine Power users, but it had already weakened to the point of near-dissolution. Before life could fully slip away, breeding instinct drove it to lay an egg, though whether it would hatch properly remained uncertain. And if Magic Beasts found it, it would become an easy meal.
-……It seems the mother realized you’d come to this area and deliberately rushed out to lure the Magic Beasts away. So those Magic Beasts that appeared in the northwest probably…….
‘Were chasing the mother? The mother offered herself as bait on purpose?’
-Yes, that’s it.
‘Then that mother Divine Beast…….’
-……We won’t be able to save her.
I slowly extended my hand and touched the egg in the nest. I felt the faintest warmth. Now I understood why the sword had been urging me. Most birds hatch by breaking the shell themselves, but this one didn’t seem strong enough to do it. It was far too weak.
“Little one.”
I touched the sword’s edge lightly with my fingertip, then pulled back. Pain stung, and a droplet of blood fell. As the blood touched the eggshell, it trembled faintly—as if suddenly gaining strength.
“Find your strength and come into the world…… so we can go see your mother?”
Your mother is putting her life on the line so you can be born into this world. Let’s go see her before it’s too late.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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