Why did Pochi run away?
Pochi, who had been furiously drawing non-stop, finally seemed satisfied after three hours and put down his brush (probably Tsuyoshi).
“Dungeon Master, thank you so much! I think I can create something amazing!”
“... I see. But still, you're quite a peculiar beastman child. As expected of Geraldin's… wait, why are there two Geraldins now? Beastmen aren’t creatures that split like slimes to multiply, right?”
The Crystal Griffin, seemingly the Dungeon Master, finally noticed the troublesome man who had been running in unison with his copy, laughing for three hours straight.
According to the troublesome man, the Cold Ruins were a prime hunting ground for him, so he frequently visited and somehow (probably forcibly) became friends with the Dungeon Master. What an outrageous man.
“... Geraldin-san… there's two of him…”
Pochi, who had finally noticed us, turned toward us awkwardly, like a rusty tin toy.
“I’m so sorry! Rosarin Oneechan is much prettier, cuter, nobler, and more elegant! It was my first time using Tsuyoshi, and the result got mixed up with all kinds of images! I’m so sorryyyyyyy!!”
Pochi blurted this out in one breath and then executed a perfect sliding dogeza.
“Exactly! Rosarin is much more beautiful, adorable, and alluring!”
“Indeed! Rosary is much more elegant, lovely, and noble!”
“Eh…”
I… I can’t keep up with Pochi, my darling Dirk, and my bestie Milfi's excitement levels…
“Rosaaariiiin!”
“Rosariiiin!”
“Are Fake-rin and the Valkyrie resonating with each other?”
“Wait, Fake-rin is the muscle-bound lady!?”
“Pfft… gahaha…”
“Guh…”
I delivered a claw strike to the laughing Rinka for good measure.
“Ow, ow, ow! Wait, Dirk-san snickered a bit too, didn’t he?”
“Hm, karma?”
“Ugh, I can’t deny that… no, wait, favoritism!”
“Just love priorities.”
“Favoritism! That’s so mean! It hurts! Bullying isn’t cool!!”
Rinka’s whining was annoying, so I reluctantly let her go.
Pochi timidly addressed Dirk.
“Dirk-san, are you mad? I… I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to insult Oneechan! I didn’t do it on purpose, and I really think Oneechan is much prettier, more elegant, more refined, and gentler, and—”
“Wait. Who are you talking about?”
“—better at cooking and smarter!”
I interjected, but Pochi ignored me.
“... Why do you think I’m angry?”
“Because Dirk-san treasures Oneechan so much! Please don’t tear me apart while I’m still alive!”
“I won’t! What do you think I am!?”
“You’re a super-strong big brother who loses all sense of restraint when Oneechan is involved…”
“...…”
Dirk couldn’t deny it.
“Aha! The mystery… the mystery has been solved!”
“What mystery?”
“The reason Pochi-kun ended up in the deepest part of the Cold Ruins! Pochi-kun was more afraid of Dirk-san than strong monsters, so the fakes moved him to the deepest part to escape from Dirk-san! And when Pochi-kun got dazzled by the Dungeon Master's beauty and forgot about Dirk-san, they stayed here!”
“So, if the Dungeon Master wasn’t beautiful…”
“We might have been stuck playing an endless game of tag!”
“... Yeah, maybe…”
“Pochi-kun, what do you think I am!?”
“You’re the super-strong big brother who loves Oneechan more than anyone and won’t tolerate her being insulted.”
“……”
Dirk couldn’t deny it again. I’m… loved.
“But Dirk forgives people if they apologize properly, right? Plus, he wouldn’t do anything awful to you, who I treat like a little brother, Pochi.”
Dirk nodded enthusiastically.
“... Yeah. I realize now that I was just imagining things out of fear. By the way, Oneechan.”
“Hm?”
“When does a picture created with Tsuyoshi disappear?”
“... I wonder?”
(......)
Huh? Everyone went quiet all of a sudden??
“Irresponsible!”
“Handling one is already too much; taking care of two is impossible!”
“Isn’t there an eraser or something? Or will they disappear naturally!?”
“Well, I’m not particularly skilled at drawing, so I never tested it. And, uh, Jend, is it really okay to treat your dad like a pet or something? Even if there’s an eraser… would you erase it?”
“Irresponsible!”
“He’s a father who nearly put his friend in a life-threatening situation. Being treated worse than a pet seems fair to me.”
“... Impossible! They can’t be erased!”
“Jend, Geraldin-san's duplicate looks so sad… by the way, which one is the real one if we were to erase or examine them?”
(......)
Nobody answered. Apparently, no one could tell the difference.
The troublesome man, now doubled, looked dejected and let out a sorrowful cry. What should we do?
I feel a headache coming on…
What do you think about this chapter?
