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“The sun’s already fully up. Chihuahua, you’re on it.”
“Got it, boss!”

Hearing Terrier-chan’s words, Chihuahua-chan springs into action. The slimmest of the three disappears into the gap between the trees.
Then, heading in the opposite direction from where he’d gone, Terrier-chan starts walking. Naturally, Dachshund-chan follows suit, so we end up trailing the two of them.
Looking at Terrier-chan’s smooth, soft-looking head, I ask,

“Where’s Chihuahua-chan off to?”
“He’s going to hide out until nightfall. He went to cover our tracks and make it look like it’s animals who passed through the area.”
“Until nightfall… are you sure that’s safe? Don’t the security guards patrol around here?”
“Well, yeah. But surveillance is pretty lax around here. As long as there’s a place to hide, we’ll be fine.”

With that, Terrier-chan, accompanied by Dachshund-chan, strides confidently forward.
The sunlight filtering through the trees reflects off Terrier-chan’s bald head, so I won’t lose sight of him, but the two of them are moving so fast that keeping up is quite a challenge.

……They move with such ease.

All three members of the Terrier Bandits move with the same casual ease as if they were strolling through their own backyard.
The way they glide effortlessly through the mountains—where the footing is treacherous and visibility poor—makes it easy to believe they actually live here.
Kuzuha-chan is keeping up just as well, and Behaki seems unfazed too. I’m clearly the only one lagging behind.
I’m a vampire now. I have high physical ability and plenty of stamina. But I find it hard to walk on unfamiliar terrain.
I occasionally feel like I’m about to slip, so I can’t help but tread carefully.

“Are you okay, Arje?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you, Behaki.”
“Just so you know, we’re not waiting for you.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep up just fine.”

I certainly wasn’t expecting that much kindness. I also know it wouldn’t be good to dawdle.
It’s a hassle, but I’ll try a little harder. Just as I thought that, I suddenly felt a sensation of floating.
My feet left the ground, and my balance was thrown off. The bald head disappeared from my field of vision, and I saw tree leaves and the blue sky.

“Eek…!?”

For a moment, I thought I’d fallen, and a strange sound escaped my mouth.
I realized immediately that I was mistaken.
The sensation of floating was caused by being lifted from behind, as if swept up. In my upward-facing field of vision, the face of a young girl with a wolf-cut hairstyle appeared.

“…Kuzuha-chan?”
“Arje-san, let me carry you.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just a clone, after all.”

I understood what she meant.
She was saying that the Kuzuha-chan currently carrying me in a princess carry was a clone created from her tail.
When I moved my head, I saw what appeared to be the real Kuzuha-chan wagging her tail as she walked ahead.

Being carried by a little girl does make me feel a bit guilty, to be honest.
However, judging by her movements so far, Kuzuha seems to have high physical ability, and as you can see, she can create clones.
Since clones are created using magic, they don’t consume stamina, and apparently, they’re very efficient.
It’s true that this is faster and easier than walking on my own, and it’s also true that I can’t afford to dawdle. I might as well just go with the flow and accept her help.

“I’m sorry, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’re friends, after all, so it’s only natural.”

Even if she says it’s natural, I don’t really get this friend thing.
That’s because the word “friend” wasn’t part of my normal vocabulary.
Kuzuha-chan should be in the same boat—she doesn’t have any friends either—but she says her mother taught her how to socialize.
Her mom might be a little strange—or maybe just overprotective—but there’s no doubt she cherished Kuzuha-chan, so she probably didn’t teach her anything false.
If she calls me a friend, it would be rude to brush off her attempts to treat me as one. I decided to say nothing and just nod.

I curled up as small as possible so as not to be a burden, and moved while being held by Kuzuha-chan’s clone.
The way Kuzuha-chan’s clone held me and walked showed she was truly considerate of me; it wasn’t uncomfortable to be held, and there was very little swaying. The gentle rocking felt like a cradle, and if I let my guard down, I felt like I might fall asleep.

Through my half-closed eyelids, the little girl smiled at me.

“If you’re sleepy, it’s okay to sleep, you know?”
“No… hwaa… I’m fine, Cloneha-chan.”
“Cloneha!?”
“Since you’re Kuzuha-chan’s clone, Cloneha-chan… Clone… Lone-chan… Lo-chan…”
“”Arje-san!? Aren’t you getting lazier by the seconds!?””
“At least follow us quietly, you two.”

Terrier-chan directs a cold remark at Kuzuha-chan, who, along with her clone, has started making retorts.
The two Kuzuha-chans nod earnestly and begin silently following Terrier-chan and Dachschund-chan. I decide to stop speaking as well. Though I do yawn.
After yawning for the umpteenth time, just as I was about to lose consciousness for real, Terrier-chan stopped walking.
In front of him was a hole just wide enough for a single person to crawl through on their stomach.
It looked like a hole dug haphazardly by a beast—a horizontal tunnel leading not underground, but into the mountains.

“What is this place…?”
“It’s one of the hideouts we use when crossing the border. Come on, let’s get in.”

Saying that brusquely, Terrier-chan entered the tunnel.
Dachshund-chan, following behind, was a bit too wide, but it seemed he could still squeeze through, and he disappeared into the tunnel.
I don’t know how deep the tunnel is, but since they told me to come, there must be plenty of room inside.

“Arje-san, I’ll go ahead,”
“Yes, I understand,”

Kuzuha, showing no sign of fear, slid her small body into the tunnel.
I was left behind, so I had her Kuzuha Clone—or Cloneha for short—lower me down, and I decided to follow the others.
It’s called a hideout, but I wonder what kind of structure it has.

“I’ll be waiting outside.”

With Behaki’s deep voice seeing me off, I stepped into the Terrier Bandits’ hideout.