Scene 52

Um... excuse me.

Village Boy A

Whoa! Wh-Who are you?!

Village Boy B

Wait, you're... the people the mayor hired to check for the monster, right? Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?

That's exactly what we wanted to talk to you about. I'm sorry for following you like this, but... Um, that's the monster, isn't it?

Aw, it's so cute.

Village Boy A

Uh, well, you see... It's...

Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to scold you or tattle to the mayor. I just want to know what's going on.

The safety of the village is our top priority.

Why don't you start by telling us what happened?

Village Boy B

Well, okay... Guess there's no point in lying...

I see... So, let me summarize.

You found a monster in this cave one day.

It was injured, so you treated its wounds and grew attached to it. And since then, you've been coming here to feed it and play with it— that about right?

Village Boy A

If the grown-ups find out, they'll take it away!

Village Boy A

That's why we lied and said we saw a big monster... We didn't want anyone to come around here and find it.

Village Boy B

But then the mayor requested help from you guys, so we thought we might be in trouble...

Town Boy B

We were able to hide it when you came here the first time, but we knew you'd find it eventually.

Ah... So then you said you'd seen the monster in the forest so we'd go there instead.

Village Boy A

The village doesn't have enough money to keep hiring adventurers, so I thought you'd go away after finding nothing in the forest...

I knew it! The reason we weren't able to find the monster is because it never existed in the first place!

Hehehe, I'm just a natural detective!

Hm? What's wrong, {HeroName}? You look like something's troubling you...

Huh? I suppose you're right... The first time, there were more witnesses than just these two...

Wh-What?!

Wait, could that be... the boss monster?!

Boys

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

C-C-Calm down! Everything's going to be f-f-fine! Go and hide, okay? We'll take care of this!

Let's do this!