♢ ♢ ♢ ♢ ♢
Before anyone noticed, EAT had approached the unconscious giant beast and was examining it closely.
Then he walked over to the creature that might be a squid-like alien.
"Where is this place? And who are you?"
"Uh… I…" While the squid-like alien and EAT talked for quite a while, the excited children continued chatting among themselves, each sharing their own wishes and thoughts.
Even as the children happily chattered, EAT kept asking the creature various questions.
"I see? Then 'Neb,' you guide the way." EAT instructed Neb to lead them.
Quick-witted Eti ran over.
"What is it, what is it! What's Neb?" EAT looked at Neb and answered Eti's question.
"This one's name is 'Neb.' He says he'll guide us to the village where he lives~"
Eti: Then is he taking us to the Demon King's castle?
EAT: No, he said he'll take us to his village.
Neb: Yes! If you follow me, the misunderstanding will be cleared.
Eti hurried back to the group of children and relayed what had just happened.
Dabi fell into deep thought.
Dabi: Going to the Demon King's base without any equipment is a bit…
Rogi: We don't know if it's a village or the Demon King yet, right?
Leo: What if it's a trap?
Eti: We have Leo oppa!
Leo: Huh?
The children decided they had no other option and chose to follow Neb.
Just as they were about to depart, Ellie suddenly screamed.
"Gah, Leo!" Startled, Leo turned around— the giant beast that had been unconscious earlier was slowly approaching.
The children screamed in fear, but the giant beast came up to Leo, sniffed him, then lowered its head.
It stood there calmly. Sensing something strange, Leo lowered his clenched fist and placed his palm on the beast's nose.
The beast moved closer to Leo. Leo touched its face and gently patted its body.
Still, the beast remained calm. Watching this, Rogi asked:
"Leo, isn't it dangerous?"
Leo replied, "No, it's really gentle."
At Leo's words, Eti took out some fruit she had saved earlier and placed them in front of the beast's nose.
The beast sniffed them and began eating.
Seeing this, Eti brightened and began petting it too.
Though still cautious, the children gradually approached, touching the beast and wondering why it had suddenly become gentle.
Watching this, EAT said, "It seems to think Leo is the leader."
Leo pondered, "But is this thing a pig or a hippo?"
"Should we give it a name? Hmm…" Leo thought for a moment.
"Poppy sounds good!"
At Leo's decision, the children smiled and began calling it Poppy.
Only Pai, however, was still too afraid to approach.
Meanwhile, Neb, fascinated, carefully approached and touched the beast.
Then he suddenly turned and asked, "How did you do this? How is this possible? This violent beast…"
The children looked at Neb in curiosity.
EAT: Neb, you were being chased by this beast, right?
Neb: Yes. These beasts have caused immense damage to our Kurak.
Pai: Kurak?
Neb: Yes, our tribe is called Kurak.
Soon, the children began walking again, following Neb.
Neb led the way, and behind the children, Poppy quietly followed.
Seeing the dense bushes part and form a path on their own, Neb exclaimed in awe.
"Who are you all? Truly… you possess incredible power!"
Dabi answered with an extremely serious expression.
Dabi: We are space warriors!
Neb: Oh! So you are space warriors!
Pai: Dabi! Do you want to die?! Why space warriors?!
Pai: …This is my story!
Rogi: Dabi, if you keep doing that, we might start using magic in your space warrior stories too…
Dabi: Eek~ [Dabi covers his mouth with both hands]
As they walked for a long time, Yona, whose leg made walking difficult, began falling behind.
Before long, she was even behind Poppy, looking exhausted.
Poppy happened to look back and made eye contact with Yona.
After a moment—
Pai: Neb, how much farther do we have to go?
Neb: We're about halfway there.
Eti: Ugh…
Leo: Hmm, it's quite far…
Rogi: Neb~ aren't you hungry or tired?
Neb: I'm fine! Thank you for your concern.
EAT: The uneven path is increasing fatigue.
At EAT's mention of fatigue, Rogi suddenly shouted:
"That's right, Yona! Are you okay?"
Rogi looked around, but couldn't find Yona.
"Yona is gone!"
"I'm over here~"
Hearing Yona's voice, Rogi looked up.
There she was—riding on Poppy's back.
Rogi: Yona, how did you get up there?!
Yona: Poppy grabbed me and tossed me onto its back~
Eti: Wow! Me too, me too!
Eti ran toward Poppy, making a pleading expression.
Poppy gently grabbed the back of her clothes and tossed her onto its back.
Its thick mane made it easy to hold on and very comfortable to ride.
Rogi refused, wanting to walk on her own, and Pai refused out of fear.
Seeing EAT hesitate, Leo picked him up and tossed him onto Poppy.
EAT: Aah! Leo!
EAT: Thanks…
Leo: Yep~
After some time, a path through the forest appeared ahead.
Neb said:
"Everyone, the path to the village has appeared. We'll arrive soon."
Excited, Neb ran ahead.
The Kurak villagers noticed him from afar and stopped what they were doing, gathering at the entrance.
But when they saw the giant Poppy behind him, they screamed in terror and hid.
"No, it's okay! Don't worry! It's safe!" Neb shouted, but no one came out.
Only after Poppy and the children entered the village and showed it was calm did the Kurak slowly emerge.
Some even overcame their fear and cautiously touched Poppy.
The Kurak were astonished. How had such a terrifying beast become so gentle?
Pai looked around—and saw only injured people.
"Why are there so many injured people!"
People with bandaged legs, arms, heads, and waists—everyone was hurt.
"They were attacked by these beasts!" the villagers shouted, glaring at Poppy with hatred.
At that moment, Yona, Eti, and EAT waved from Poppy's back.
"My goodness!"
To the Kurak, the children looked incredibly powerful.
An elder stepped forward and asked:
"W-who… are you?"
Neb proudly shouted:
"Elder! These people… are space warriors!"
His eyes were filled with hope.
The Kurak, once in despair, cheered with emotion—
while space warrior Dabi was being grabbed by the collar by Pai and screaming.
-5 A END