(Hmm, there are several ways we could go about this…)

While thinking about what to do next, Blazer scowls at the child. Meanwhile, the little girl, whose eyes briefly met with his, froze at the sight of the jet-black longsword that was dripping with the giant centipede’s blood.

“Hih, d-don’t kill me…”

“Wafu, kuaruwofu?” (Ah, is she begging for her life?)

Upon guessing the situation based on the girl’s reaction, the tall, skinny Kobold with the reddish-brown fur lightly shook off the blackish blood from his blade and reached for the cloth on his leather pouch on his waist to clean his weapon, but…

Due to the act, some of the blood got on the little girl’s cheeks and gave off a strong, bloody scent.

“Ah.” (Ah)

“U-Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

“Wafi oawu, kuuaruo….” (What the heck are you doing…?)

Lancer, who sported a slightly stunned expression, was drawn to the crying child. Caring by nature, Lancer examined the scratches on the young girl and slowly placed her palm over her wounds to avoid scaring the child while she gathered Holy attribute magic.

“Kuruauou…” (Healing Mercy…)

“I-it’s warm?”

The warm light healed the light scratches on the child’s limbs and also eased the pain from the sprain she got when she was pushed away by one of the Kobolds during the scuffle with the giant centipede…

After healing her wounds, Lancer took the small girl and held her tightly against her chest. They would usually do this in the pack to put the newborn puppies comfortably to sleep, but the sudden hug confused the child.

“Wapuh, *hic* huhuh~”

However, the little girl, partly influenced by the instinct of viviparous mammals to calm down when embraced, quieted down when she was enveloped in Lancer’s fluffy arms.

“Wafa kuaofuuh.” (I managed to stop her from crying for now)

Lancer let out a sigh as she exhaled, but…

The main problem still hasn’t been solved, so one of the young Kobolds moved forward and asked on behalf of everyone.

“Guruu, waoau?” (Master, what should we do?)

“Vaaruowaaan? Woguruo gaoaa ooauu…” (I think it was called Viel Village? This human cub might belong there…)

It’s unnatural for a young one to be wandering in such a dangerous forest, so there’s a high possibility that the villagers might be looking for it. If it were us, then the whole pack would be looking for the lost pup immediately.

However, stepping into the dark forest after sunset is risky, so even if they expanded the area of their search up to this area, it would have to wait until tomorrow although there is no guarantee that their young would stay safe until then.

Well, from the perspective of a pragmatist like Blazer, it did not matter whether the child was a human cub.

“Guruuooon, guruauu…” (It’s fine if it were just me, but what would Leader do?)

As he thought about the childhood friend whom he had trained with and who brought him to heights he could not have even reached by himself as a normal Kobold, he became reluctant to abandon the child.

After all, as a leader of the pack, his friend aspired to form good relations with the inhabitants of Viel village.

Also, since the nervousness from a while ago had already dissipated and was replaced by exhaustion, the young girl in question began to nod off while clinging to Lancer. And from the expression on his other childhood friend’s face, it also seems that she had become attached to the child, as from her point of view, it was common sense that the young had to be protected.

(Hah, she’s such a softie…)

It seemed that no matter how much he seemed to put on airs, the tall, skinny Kobold had a soft spot for his friends. Even though he originally thought that it would be fine to just leave the child alone, Blazer began to look for a logical reason to help the human cub… and found a satisfactory answer not long after.

(After all, if we leave it here and the villagers come looking for it near our settlement, it would be dangerous…)

The reason was a bit far-fetched, but because his troublesome personality did not allow him to make a move without a valid reason, he had to come up with one. But once Blazer has made up his mind, he quickly takes action because he has the conviction to stick to his beliefs.

“Guruo, vogaao guruau vaaoaruouu.” (Everyone, let’s take it along to the village with us tonight and just accompany it back to its village tomorrow.)

“Won, waoaan.” (I agree.)

Because the red-haired mage and the Werecats previously visited their pack, everyone had already gotten used to interacting with other races, so letting the child stay overnight with them did not pose any problems, given the precedent. When Lancer agreed with his decision to take the child home, the other Kobolds who were observing the situation visibly relaxed. 

“Waoa, ruau wauoon!” (Alright, let’s go home and eat!)

“Wauruuoou wooau…” (Yeah, that was quite the unexpected exercise after all…)

A young female Kobold glanced at the giant centipede’s carcass as she let out a light sigh. It looked strange no matter how she looked at it and thought that it was best not to consume it unless they were sure that it was safe to eat. 

If for some reason, they are unable to catch common prey, they would have to venture into unknown territory to source food. When this happens, one of the Kobolds would take a bite out of the prey they caught from those lands, and their condition would be observed for at least half a day to avoid mass food poisoning.

Currently, there was no need for such an action, and the Kobolds who had lost interest in the centipede turned on their heels and walked back to the pack settlement.

After that, Lancer took the little girl they saved to the shallow river nearby and washed her since she was covered in soil and mud. And as Lancer worried about what would be good to feed the girl, the autumn night deepened.