12

Every member of the search party was battered and exhausted. Evan and Silica at the front were covered in wounds, and even the rear guard—including the scouts—were at their physical and mental limits from supporting the two and maintaining vigilance.

No one had fallen yet, but if they encountered another pack of magical beasts, there would certainly be casualties.

And from that first crack, the collapse of the entire search party would follow.

Wanting at least Silica to escape was selfish—but as her father, it was Evan’s honest feeling.

No one spoke from exhaustion as they kept watch, when the grass rustled and swayed.

“…Multiple,”

Evan muttered.

Though quiet, his words reached everyone’s ears.

All of them steeled themselves.

Silica and Evan drew their swords and lowered their stances.

As the rustling grew closer, their heartbeats quickened.

“Whew, we finally linked up.”

Just as a shadow emerged from the grass, a familiar voice followed.

“…Ains.”

A smiling boy appeared in a wheelchair. Behind him came three children.

Silica’s legs gave out all at once. The sword in her hand fell to the ground.

Clang—the sound rang out, and a wave of relief passed through the search party.

“We need to hear why Ains went into the forest,”

Evan said, fixing Ains with a stern look.

But then—

“We reunited safely, and we found the children. Let’s rejoice in that first. Ains, you did well!”

Evan’s expression softened, and the hand ruffling Ains’s head grew unconsciously stronger.

“Evan-san, that hurts.”

Ains looked troubled, but he didn’t brush the hand away and accepted it.

When Evan finally let go, Ains smoothed his tousled hair with his fingers.

Coming back to herself, Silica stepped in front of Ains.

“I’m angry, Ains. I thought you were just taking a detour, and instead you went into the forest. We’re all beaten to a pulp, and yet you’re spotless. I think it’s time I reminded you of your big sister’s authority!”

Saying that, Silica roughly rubbed Ains’s head with both hands.

The hair he had just fixed was immediately messed up again.

“Silica, that’s the wrong way to show big sister authority.”

Ains sighed as he untangled his hair again.

“All right, everyone! We’ve avoided the worst-case scenario for now. Next, we head back to the village safely! You’re all exhausted, but hang in there just a bit longer!”

Evan rallied them.

“Well, I’m not really that tired…”

Ains muttered, thinking he was being quiet—but Silica clearly heard him and smacked him on the head.

‘That super hearing of hers…’

Another fist came down on Ains’s head.

“Why!?”

“…You looked like you were thinking something rude.”

Silica turned away with a huff, but when she caught Ains’s blank expression out of the corner of her eye, she laughed.

After that, they made it through the forest without issue.

They were attacked by magical beasts, but Ains drove them off with magic.

Silica, already familiar with Ains’s magical ability, wasn’t surprised, but Evan and the others were seeing his magic for the first time and were utterly astonished.

In the end, the search party made it back to the village in one-fifth the time it had taken to enter the forest.

When they reached the village center, the villagers were gathered outside, waiting.

They had been quietly waiting around the bonfire, but when they saw Evan and the search party return without losing a single person—and all the children who entered the forest were safe—they erupted in cheers like a festival.

The children who had gone into the forest were thoroughly scolded by their parents.

Ains, needless to say, was also scolded for entering the forest without permission.

After the children had been reprimanded, the events in the forest were shared—how Ains had found the children, protected them, reunited with the search party, and details of his magical prowess.

Most villagers had treated Ains like fragile glass as the sole survivor of Silve Village. With no right arm and no left leg, unable to walk on his own, they never said it out loud—but like the children, they had thought of him as a useless mouth to feed.

That evaluation changed.

They now saw him as a savior—someone who had entered the forest alone in place of the battered search party and saved both the children and the adults from magical beasts.

The villagers apologized for treating him as an untouchable burden and expressed their gratitude for Ains’s actions, one after another.

At first, Ains was quite taken aback by the sudden change in attitude, but he still felt happy to be thanked.

Ains, the survivor of Silve Village. Until now, his world had been formed only by Evan, his wife Karia, and their daughter Silica—but after this incident, it felt as though he had finally become a member of the village.

The children who had been thoroughly scolded by their parents came over to Ains.

“…You saved us.”

“Yeah.”

“And… sorry. I apologize for making fun of you.”

“It’s fine. I really was a useless mouth to feed. Even this time, I acted purely out of personal interest in magic. Saving you was just a byproduct.”

“Even so—Ains, you’re our lifesaver.”

The three boys bowed deeply, their parents pressing their heads down from above, and then they went home.