A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!

Chapter 340: Mama’s Fear

Whenever Qiong Xing was away, things usually ended up like this.

Part of him felt sorry for her.

But at the same time, he could not deny how happy it made him that she relied on him so much.

"Papa..."

"Hm? I’m right here."

As he gently stroked her head while she nuzzled against him, Elias gazed out the window.

Only an hour had passed.

He did not know how long Qiong Xing would be gone, but it would certainly be a while before he returned.

"Papa, you won’t hate Lian?"

"Of course not."

"But Yue and Rui can do things Lian can’t."

At first, Elias wondered what she was talking about.

Then he realized this was something she had apparently been worrying about for quite some time.

Although she had inherited Elias’s blood as well, Lian had been born human.

Unlike her younger siblings, who were beastmen, there were things they could do that she could not.

It seemed that had been weighing on her mind.

"That’s true. But there are things Lian can do that they can’t."

In terms of physical ability, the twins were certainly superior.

But that was only because they had been born beastmen.

Lian, who had inherited the blood of both Qiong Xing and Elias while remaining human, possessed strengths of her own.

"You can use magic, can’t you? Mama said you were amazing."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Even Cari and Albe were surprised."

Perhaps it was because she was Qiong Xing’s child.

Still, everyone had been genuinely amazed by how talented she was for a human.

"And you’re more athletic than Mama too. Mama’s always doing dangerous things."

That much, at least, proved that some of Elias’s blood definitely flowed through her veins as well.

Lian did not seem particularly fond of physical activity, but the way she moved made it obvious that her physical abilities were exceptional for a human.

There was no reason for her to feel discouraged.

As Elias gently rubbed her back, Lian nodded with a smile.

Not long afterward, she drifted off to sleep.

"Lian is my pride and joy."

With that, Elias leaned down and placed a goodnight kiss on her forehead as she slept.

...

The hunt ended without incident and everyone was on their way home together.

"I only needed chicken, but thanks to Fenrir and the others, we caught quite a lot. Let’s share some with everyon... wah!"

"Are you alright!?"

The moment Qiong Xing turned around to look at Leander beside him, he caught his foot on a stone and nearly fell.

Leander reacted instantly, grabbing his arm before he could hit the ground.

As a result, Qiong Xing neither scraped his knee nor suffered any injury.

Smiling at the worried expressions around him, he reached toward the stone, thinking it would be dangerous to leave it there.

Then his hand froze.

"Qiong Xing?"

"Eek!"

The instant he saw it, he let out a shriek and immediately hid behind Leander’s back.

Everyone stared in confusion.

They had never seen Qiong Xing react like this before.

"Mama?"

"Qiong Xing?"

"What is wrong?"

Leander tried to turn around to see what was happening, but Qiong Xing wrapped both arms around his waist and clung tightly to his back as though stopping him from committing a terrible mistake.

Turning his back on the enemy was absolutely unacceptable!

"Hey, Qiong Xing? Seriously, what’s wrong? I can’t move like this."

"F-F-F-F-Fro... fro..."

"Fro?"

"Frog!!"

".....A frog?"

"No, no, no! Absolutely not! No way!"

Realizing what it was before touching it had been incredibly fortunate.

But now there was an even greater problem.

He had no idea when the creature might suddenly move and come toward him.

The thought alone was terrifying.

"Could it be... that you’re afraid of something as insignificant as a frog?"

"Insignificant!? It’s a frog! A frog!"

Qiong Xing shouted at Fenrisulfr who looked completely baffled by his reaction.

How could anyone remain so calm?

Frogs were not harmless creatures that could be dismissed as insignificant!

"Mama doesn’t like frogs?"

"Eeek! No, no, no. Absolutely not. You two are not allowed to touch it, understood?"

"Huh? Okay."

The twins had started reaching toward the frog as if to show there was nothing scary about it.

Qiong Xing desperately stopped them.

No, no, no.

Absolutely not.

There was no way he was letting them touch that thing!

"Should I carry it somewhere else?"

Seeing how terrified Qiong Xing was, Fenrisulfr offered to remove the creature.

Unfortunately, that would mean Fenrisulfr would have to pick it up with his mouth.

Qiong Xing absolutely did not want to witness something so horrifying.

If Fenrisulfr did that, he would probably be unable to go near him for quite some time afterward.

With a face on the verge of tears, Qiong Xing shook his head vigorously.

Fenrisulfr sighed.

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"L-Le... Leander... carry me."

"Alright, alright."

It was a pitiful sight for an adult, especially in front of the children, but Qiong Xing gladly allowed Leander to pick him up and carry him away from the frog.

Even then, he never took his eyes off it.

What if it suddenly moved?

The fear was overwhelming.

Qiong Xing felt a little guilty for how tightly he was clinging to Leander, but Leander seemed delighted by it and was grinning from ear to ear.

"I mean, it’s not exactly cute, but what’s so bad about it?"

"Everything."

"..."

Its color.

Its shape.

Its texture.

Every single aspect of it was unacceptable.

"When I was little... I once mistook one for a rock and picked it up."

"And then?"

"It got startled, and when I fell backward in surprise, the thing went flying through the air and landed right on my face. It was so disgusting that I passed out. The feeling of it was..."

Just remembering it made his entire body break out in goosebumps.

The frog had been fairly large, and because it was raining, he had not realized what it was before grabbing it.