In the forest, a little distance away from the settlement. A young, puppy-like Kobold walked on all-fours under the shade of the trees. It seemed it was still unable to walk on two legs.

Could it have been separated from its parents? Or, could it have left the settlement on its own and gotten lost? In any case, it was unnatural for a young one to be in such a place.

“Kukyuu, kyuaaan♪”

The young Kobold pup happily made its way into the forest. It did not even notice the suspicious shadow that aimed for it from the top of the trees…

Just as the young Kobold approached a tree, a bird-type monster, the Yatagarasu Modoki flew over its head with a loud rustle of its wings!

“Kukaaaaah!!”

Was it going to grab the young cub with its powerful claws and carry it off into the air? Was it going to hold the cub on the ground and kill it on the spot..?

“Kah!? Gaa…, aa…”

However, it was the Yatagarasu Modoki who became the pathetic prey.

An adult, fox-like Kobold with golden-colored fur and an insanely fluffy tail stood where the puppy-sized juvenile Kobold had been a while ago. The fox-mixed dog kin, Dagger, jumped down and buried her sharp fangs into the Yatagarasu Modoki’s throat. 

[Illusion Magic (Beginner): Size Reduction]

[Effect: possible to shrink one’s body; at that time, shape correction is also somewhat possible.]

Dagger, however, was not wearing even a single piece of protective gear or was she wearing any weapons. When she used magic to shift into a juvenile Kobold, all the equipment she was wearing fell off.  

In a way, she wasn’t exactly naked, but… well, let’s just say that she was only in her fluffy fur.

“Kuonn, kyuau oaann!” (Big brother, I’ve finally secured a gift!)

I lowered the bow and arrow, which I held at the ready, and emerged from my hiding place within the trees. Similarly, Buster, who had been lurking not far from Dagger, also appeared.

“Guruaah, wofu!” (That was splendid, dear sister!)

“Guaoruuu, garuuou” (Dagger’s Illusion Magic isn’t something to be underestimated.)

The two of us approached Dagger, who had brought down the Yatagarasu Modoki.

The red-haired Muriel, who was standing at a distance, also approached, carrying Dagger’s weapons and equipment in her arms.

“The Kobold, the Kobold performed magic… No, I won’t be surprised anymore!”

As she said this, Muriel handed Dagger her weapons and equipment.

In addition to our natural fur, we equipped leather armor as well. To begin with, we only wore grass skirts on the settlement regardless of gender… clothes were unnecessary because of our fur, and, depending on the time of year, it was also pretty hot.

Nevertheless, it was still necessary to protect ourselves, so I called out to my sister, who hurriedly put on her equipment.

“Wofu, kuugakuaruo” (Dear sister, I’m borrowing your knife.)

“Won” (Sure.)

With the knife I received, I slit the raven’s neck and drained it of its blood, and after the necessary preparations, I handed its meat to Buster. In case you’re wondering, we dropped by this place before arriving at the settlement to procure gifts for the other group that remained in the village.  

And no, we’re not trying to awkwardly buy our way with a gift just because we did not arrive at our destination and returned empty-handed… at least that was the intention.

By the way, for us Kobolds who run on the ground, it’s rare for us to hunt birds in the sky. We’ve acquired such a gift, so the three of us, plus Muriel, proceeded to the settlement in a good mood.

……………

………

…

“Wou… guruo uaau” (That’s… Hmm, I don’t know these guys.)

As I wandered through the forest with my trusty partner, the Long Sword, in search of lunch before proceeding to take up guard duty in the village, I unexpectedly saw unfamiliar figures of my race from a distance.

At the head of it was a conspicuous-looking silver Kobold, followed by a fox-like Kobold, and, for some reason, they were accompanied by an adventurer too. And lastly, at the rear was a Kobold with a big physique. 

Even if they were only walking, it was evident that they were focusing on erasing their presence, though it seems like those guys have not noticed me yet… Well, it was not like I was in a position to fight them head-on, and besides, I’m downwind too.

[Activated: Presence Erasure (Medium)]

[Effect: One’s presence becomes hard to detect.]

I erased all traces of my presence, laid low, and soundlessly approached my opponents to check them out.

Of course, I did not intend to fight them, I just wanted to check what they were like. It would be foolish of me to fight while being outnumbered, so on the off chance that they found me, I was ready to flee from here.

And so, I noticed something as I cautiously approached them. The huge Kobold at the rear…while the fur on both of its arms has turned black, that guy was Buster.

Huh? Then this is Leader’s party!

……………

………

…

“G-garua…” (T-this is…)

While there may be no visual traces of any presence, my beastman ears picked up the faintest sound of footsteps. My hearing had improved ever since my fur turned silver.

However, compared to the guy in my memories, he has surely improved with erasing his presence…

“Wauh, waoann!” (Oi, Blazer!)

“Wauan, guruah!” (It’s Leader after all!!)

Blazer emerged from the bushes slightly ahead of us, and I noticed that he had become taller and leaner, and somewhat different from before. Afterward, we caught up with each other, including the confirmation of the circumstances surrounding our change. 

“Gaon, guruuoa…” (I see, so the grey bear is…)

“Kuh, guruugao aaoonn” (Nngh and I even planned to be the one to cut it down too.)

Beside me, Buster sank to his knees. It was not like I did not understand what he was feeling; the grey bear was the cause of our childhood trauma.

“Vu, guruuoaoruau, woufan vorufauoon“ (Then, after we brought the grey bear down, we noticed that our bodies changed.)

“Guruo uoakuuoaaan” (The same thing happened to us!)

From what I have heard, Ax’s fur has also turned blue. He was one of the Kobolds who underwent as much of a change as my sister and me when it came to physical changes. 

“Gurua, garuugaoa?” (By the way, Leader, who is that human?)

“Kurua… kuoaruooon” (A guest…something like a friend.)

Since no one but Kobolds had visited the settlement before, I described Muriel to them as a friend.

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Translator’s notes:

Yatagarasu- a mythical, three-legged raven in Japanese mythology. 

         Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-legged_crow