<h4>Volume 4 Extra 2.5</h4>


    Trantor: Reflet


    「……And they splendidly fell for it……」


    「Was there really a reason for us to sneakily follow them……?」


    One week after Hiyohiyo hatched, Tatsuya and Makoto had hidden to the side as Fum and the others went out cheerfully to harvest, appalled at the stupidity of their enemies. Warned by numerous sources, they had taken to the shadows alongside their guards to watch over the kids just in case, but there honestly didn’t seem to be a need for that.


    If they not only found their enemies but their enemies didn’t even realize they were the ones being followed, it was all over. Now, if it were Mio as a thief or Hiroshi and his ridiculously high detection and stealth abilities, it would make sense for no one to notice them. But now, with Tatsuya and Makoto who hardly had any skills useful for stalking, everything was over before it was nned if the enemies still didn’t notice them.


    「And not only us, but the other people who were leaking out their presence and making it obvious still didn’t get noticed. It’s seriously over for them, in more ways than one.」


    「And y’know, in that sense I guess it’s okay to rx…」


    As they were having this secretive conversation, Tatsuya and Makoto went out from the east entrance with their free pass. There were no guards to stop them at the gates of Wulls. Of course the hikikomori students in town and Tatsuya and Makoto who went more frequently out weren’t aware of this, but their faces were known all around Wulls’ public ordermittees and governmental facilities.


    「But what exactly do they intend to aplish by grabbing Fum or Lime?」


    「Probably to use them as an example or something? Either that, or make them hostages and make us liten to their demans.」


    「And again, that just sounds stupid……」


    Tatsuya wanted to just hold his head from all the silly possibilities that Makoto listed. Azuma Workshop was not sox that it would just send children outside the gates without considering some sort of preventive measure. Putting these precautions into practice with monsters or thief brigades naturally created precautions for these kinds of situations as well.


    Whenever a workshop member went outside to harvest, they always wore spider silk clothing as armor, which boasted enough defense to reflect a one-handed sword with no enchantments that most adventurers used. This meant that Fum and Lime couldn’t even be harmed by the majority of adventurers. They also had cheap but heavily enchanted leather jackets on. It was just impossible to make a lesson of them.


    In the case of hostages, the workshop members all had security buzzers and gps devices. Were any of them to be abducted, with those devices activated, everyone would soon know where they were being isted. When the rescue signal activated, Hiroshi and friends if nearby, or even without them, the country’s special forces and adventurer’s association would move in that direction, so the moment someone got abducted it was all over for the abducters.


    Well, before any of that, in addition to the everyday crafting practice and harvesting work, the workshop members, who ate food from rtively high level monsters on a regr basis, had greater physical strength than the average adventurers, as well as battle prowess, so capturing or killing them would be more difficult than taking on a powerful monster.


    「Anyhow, until I see the decisive moment, I’ll probably just stay hidden.」


    「Agreed. Judging from how they’re doing so far, it doesn’t seem like we’ll even have to do anything.」


    From the way the group tailing Fum and Lime were conducting themselves, Tatsuya and Makoto concluded they may as well follow them in a carefree manner. Even the dull-witted abductors didn’t seem to have any intention ofying their hands on the kids while the gate was still in view, content with meekly following after the children stealthily.


    Soon enough, the east gate disappeared from view, and around the time the groups decided to move out to harvest, one fool couldn’t take it anymore and began taking action.


    「Tweet?」


    One of the fools who tried to jump out from the shadows was discovered by Hiyohiyo, but ignored it and tried to continue on with the kidnapping. At this point he was already a dolt, but then he tried to capture Lime and and missed as she crouched down to sift through the foliage, while his body that was poised to grab her missed and mmed headfirst into the foliage, only to get stomped on by Hiyohiyo right after, who had almost gotten caught up in this.


    As a result, the fool who had charged straight into the thicket ended up being burnt with white me the moment Hiyohiyo stepped on him.


    「Tweet!?」


    「Whoa, I’m burning!?」


    mes that burned nothing but the fool himself. At the manifestation of these mes, even Hiyohiyo who had caused them was surprised, its round and cute eyes even wider than usual.


    「Hiyohiyo, you do something?」


    「Tweet, tweet!」


    「Huh? You say you only identally stepped on this man as he charged this way?」


    「Tweet!」


    Hiyohiyo exined to Lime (who could understand the creature somehow) what had happened. Judging from what happened, Hiyohiyo was inevitably the cause, but didn’t appear to have any idea what it had done.


    「What should we do?」


    「Tweet」


    「You’re right. Let’s just pretend we didn’t see this and do our best to get ingredients.」


    「Tweet!」


    Lime apparently didn’t want to get any more involved with a pervert who jumps on children, so she and Hiyohiyo continued their harvesting without paying the incident any further heed. They firmly ignored the fool who was still burning to the side. The strange boldness here was no doubt a result of being trained at Azuma Workshop.


    「Ah, found a rhe.」


    「Tweet-」


    Lime had gone back to autopilot, gathering every variety of item diligently anywhere from ss 9 to ss 6. During this time, the other fools finally regained their senses and came for Lime and Hiyohiyo only for all their bodies to ignite upon touching Hiyohiyo before fainting.


    「We got lots of stuff today too.」


    「Uhh, seems like you did indeed get a lot today, in more ways than one.」


    「Ah, Sis.」


    「With this many suspicious individuals running amok, maybe we should ask his highness or Elle-sama to oversee a strengthening in security?」


    Lime had finished gathering materials worth about ten days or so, as per usual, while Fum questioned her in an exasperated tone (for more reasons than one). The first weirdo to be burned didn’t have a single burn on him, although his hair now clearly resembled an afro.


    「So, hey. What do we do about these guys?」


    「We never saw anything!」


    「Okay. I haven’t seen anything either.」


    In agreement with Lime’s consistent response to these deviants, Fum did the same. And doing the same meant to leave these man all where they were.


    「These pipsqueaks really are growing into gutsy girls, I’ll tell ya……」


    「Well hey, that makes them pretty reliable, right?」


    As they gathered all the leftover idiots, Tatsuya and Makoto discussed the good (?) or bad (?) growth rate of Fum and Lime.


    「At any rate, we now have yet another thing to investigate in Rufeus Library, eh?」


    「Yeah, this time, we might not have the leisure to take so many detours.」


    And just like that, this unknown species of divine beast, Hiyohiyo ter used as the workshop’s mark), began its life as an additional member of the workshop.