Chapter "391"

My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

The Legend Of The Kangaroo Messiah Of The End Times

"Hey, now that I think about it, where'd Masaru go?"

After thoroughly enjoying the breathtaking view and the gushing hot springs, I started packing up to head back when I realized Masaru was nowhere to be seen.

Then, Serai-san-san, hearing my words, also began glancing around, scanning the surroundings.

"Huh? I thought he was just wandering around here earlier… But it’s kinda late for him to be out playing. Wonder where he’s gotten sidetracked this time?"

Hmm, well—I mean, in his case, he’s probably just munching on grass to his heart’s content. He’s always grazing on whatever’s growing around…

But yeah, now that I think about it, the phrase "getting sidetracked" (lit. "eating roadside grass") must’ve originated from herbivores like cows and horses. Makes perfect sense now.

"I wasn’t really payin’ attention to Masaru either, y’know. Maybe he went off to pick flowers or somethin’?"

<figcaptionattachment__caption"">Ah, no, Nina-san. That’s not it.

‘Cause that guy, when he was at Serai-san’s place, would usually take a dump right next to me. Never did it near Nina-san or Serai-san-san, though…

Well… I guess I’ll just chalk it up to him being used to male zookeepers like me taking care of him back in the zoo.

Honestly, I wish he’d take a page out of Taro’s book in that regard.

Taro’s considerate—he digs a hole to do his business and neatly covers it up so he doesn’t trouble the old man. Well, except for the time when some wild chickens dug it back up and started pecking at it… But yeah, that was probably just ‘cause there happened to be some tasty earthworms there. Definitely.

"Eh, he’ll probably just follow us on his own like last time."

"Yeah, true. Sun’s gonna set soon, no point waitin’ around here."

But just like that, the two of them called off the search for Masaru in seconds.

Still, fair enough. The monsters roaming the mountains were pretty much all wiped out by us.

So there’s little chance of Masaru running into any real danger on his own. Sure, there might be stragglers, but Masaru just absorbed a ton of life energy from that Giant Ant and the Super Giant Aphid.

Meaning, unless he runs into an Ace-class or Boss-class monster, he should be fine.

"Right. Let’s head down the mountain, then."

…….

And so, we began our descent. But just as we were about to reach where we’d parked the car, Masaru—who’d been missing until now—suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

"Geez, Masaru! You can’t just wander off like that!"

"Yeah, seriously. We’re a team, y’know? Can’t go doin’ whatever ya want."

The two of them, who’d been feeling a little guilty about leaving Masaru behind, immediately started lecturing him.

"Come on, you know how whimsical he is. Alright, let’s head back before it gets dark."

But even as I urged him, Masaru showed no sign of following.

"Huh? What’s up, Masaru? Last time, you followed even when we told you not to."

"Hey… Egetsu-san, look. We’re kinda surrounded by deer…"

"Wait, what?"

When Serai-san-san pointed it out, I glanced toward the shadows of the trees—only to spot deer standing there, silently watching us.

"Hmm… We are surrounded. But I don’t sense any hostility. That’s why I didn’t notice— Wait, no way! Masaru, don’t tell me you…?!"

Then Masaru, staring straight at me, rocked his body up and down before striking a muscle pose.

"Pffh-hmph!"

"So that’s it, huh?!"

"W-Wait, what’s going on, Egetsu-san…?"

Serai-san-san, not following our exchange, looked at me in confusion.

"Serai-san-san, Nina-san. It seems Masaru was fighting to protect those he needed to protect, too."

"Eh? So these deer gathering around us…"

"...Is that it? Masaru was tryin’ to protect these little ones, huh?"

All this time, Masaru had been following us around, his actions a complete mystery.

But apparently, in his own way, he’d been trying to protect the deer in these mountains. Now that the dungeon here was gone, though, Masaru no longer had a reason to stay with us.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything about this parting. After all, the owner of this mountain was Serai-san-san’s grandfather.

So with that thought in mind, I turned to Serai-san-san—only for her to shrug lightly and flash a small smile, as if she’d already figured it out.

"Ugh… Fine. I’ll talk to Grandpa and Sasayama-san. So Masaru, you take care of them, okay?"

…

As we left, I glanced back one last time. Bathed in the sunset, I saw two fawns already happily bounding toward Masaru, who stood there watching us go.