[#CreativeAward2025 #FantasyNovelCategory] Maaaaaam! Episode 8

Episode 7 is here

The dog that had run away was found immediately.

"You damn dog..."

He immediately tried to grab it by the scruff of its neck, but felt an intense killing intent from beyond the bushes and pulled back his reaching hand. Peering cautiously, he saw a large human standing there, holding a hoe.

I-I'm going to be killed!

The blood drained from his entire body, and he froze. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't. Just then, the dog darted past the bushes. The man closed his eyes, imagining the dog's head rolling on the ground. However, what he heard next was not the dog's final cry, but the voice of a small child.

"Maaaaaaam! No, no! Don't!"

Ma'am? At this moment, he realized for the first time that the large human was a woman. A woman, huh... Forgetting the killing intent he had felt just moments ago, a sense of carelessness began to spread in the man's heart.

One woman and four children, is it?

The woman was large and muscular. However, that only served to accentuate her beautiful features. Even though it was at the children's request, to think she would choose to keep a valuable Red Dog as a pet instead of killing it for food.

She's soft.

The killing intent he had felt must have been directed at the Oyachai they were hunting to feed the children. Thinking of it that way, the person in front of him suddenly seemed like an easy target. Still, even if they were children, having four of them was a nuisance. What the man wanted was the woman and the Red Dog. He didn't need children, who would just be dead weight in this cutthroat world.

"Tch."

Though he thought that, his obsession with the exceptionally fine woman walking ahead was hard to discard. Moreover, the woman was walking along with a large amount of dried Oyachai hanging from her. To have that much dried Oyachai meant her skills at hunting Oyachai must be quite impressive.

If I combine my skills at snatching Red Dogs with her Oyachai hunting, couldn't I live quite comfortably?

Thinking this, the man followed the Bon family at a set distance. His mind began to spin, trying to figure out how to make both the dog and the woman his own.

🐕🐕🐕

"Pess~ Pess-Pess~"
"Woof!"

Yuta and Sato wouldn't stop circling around Pess. Pess was quite smart; he immediately recognized Bon as his master and followed him as if glued to his side. And wherever Pess went, Sato and Yuta were always there. Even though they used to say, "I'm tired, carry me," they now walked on their own because they wanted to be by Pess's side every single second. Thanks to that, the time it took to travel was reduced significantly. Yuki and Zou also smiled just having the little brown ball of fur around.

It was the right choice to keep that puppy.

Bon's cheeks also relaxed naturally. Perhaps because of that, her usual killing intent was suppressed, and the air surrounding Bon took on a softer impression.

"Mam, you look like a woman somehow."

Yuki said, so she lightly tapped him on the head.

"Ouch."
"I've been a woman from the start!"
"You're such an idiot, big brother."

Zou boasted to Yuki, who was holding his head with teary eyes.

"What do you mean I'm an idiot?"
"In times like these, you're supposed to whisper, 'Mam, you're beautiful.'"

CLANG!

Zou fell forward.

"That hurts, Mam!"

Zou started crying because he had been hit harder than Yuki.

"Children shouldn't be using such strange phrases!"

Bon scolded Zou. Children who have no schools or places to play due to the war learn how to survive from the adults around them. Muttering that he shouldn't be learning pick-up lines, Bon felt a pang of sadness, wishing for a world where children could live like children to return soon.

Worrying like a mother that he might absorb bad things while using words he doesn't even understand, she crouched down and hugged Zou, who was crying. She reflected that she might have used a little too much strength. While being held, Zou grumbled.

"Mam's... you blockhead... waaaaah."

The moment she thought that she might need to fix his language first, she felt a malicious presence behind her and turned around quickly. She scanned her surroundings with sharp eyes, but there was no one there, and no vicious Oyachai either.

"Must have been my imagination..."

Thinking she might be tired, Bon stopped walking.

"Mam? Are you mad?"

Zou, who had been sobbing in Bon's arms, looked up anxiously.

"No, it's a bit early, but we'll make this our sleeping spot for today."

Hearing those words, the children moved efficiently within their capabilities. They set up tents, gathered twigs, and went to fetch water. The water, which was completely undrinkable right after the war, had apparently had its toxins taken away when Ochakana ascended to the sky, and it had now settled to a level that was safe for humans to drink.

"Yuki, here's some dried Oyachai."

Yuki skillfully chopped the ingredients handed to her by Bon. Sato and Yuki, who had returned from fetching water with Peth, poured the water into a pot. Zou placed the pot over the campfire.

You've all grown up to be such good children... Agu.

Bon savored this fleeting moment of happiness.

Episode 9 continues

Click here if you want to read "Maaaaaam!" from the beginning♪