"Oh, it's Aura and Mare."
Seeing the two of them, Momonga finally let out a breath. For a moment he'd thought some powerful enemy had shown up.
Herohero relaxed as well. He had a good impression of Aura and Mare—not only because he'd always been on good terms with Bukubukuchagama, but also because the two of them were now Naohara's children. One way or another, he couldn't help viewing them favorably.
"Father-sama, and the two sirs."
Aura bowed, and Mare did the same beside her.
"You two… so you're bold enough to mess with us now."
"You're getting more daring by the day."
Naohara walked up and lightly tapped each of them on the head.
"Hehe, sorry, Father-sama. I acted on my own. I just wanted to play a little joke on you."
Aura rubbed the spot he'd tapped, grinning.
To be honest, it wasn't just a prank. Aura had also wanted to test something. Even though their Supreme Being Hunting Squad had fallen apart before it ever really started, she still liked comparing the three Supreme Beings.
At her urging, Mare had used magic to conceal them as they quietly approached the three of them.
Even though Father-sama noticed them in the end, Aura was delighted. At least Herohero and Momonga hadn't sensed them at all, while Father-sama had.
And what did that mean?
It meant Father-sama was the strongest of the three Supreme Beings.
"Too bad Bukubukuchagama isn't here…"
Aura felt a twinge of regret. If Bukubukuchagama had been here too, how perfect would that have been?
Father-sama and Mother, plus the two of them… what a happy scene that would've made.
"Looks like I've spoiled you two too much."
Naohara spoke as if he were scolding them, fingers running through their golden hair. But with the way he was ruffling their heads, there wasn't a shred of intimidation in it—only even more indulgent affection.
"Hehe, Father-sama, don't be mad. We did complete the task you gave us."
"Right, Mare?"
Aura stepped forward and hugged Naohara, looking slyly pleased with herself. Mare hurried to Naohara's other side and hugged him too.
"Mm… Sister and I have been working hard to carry out Father-sama's orders."
Mare spoke timidly, soaking in the warmth he felt from his father.
"Is there anything powerful nearby?"
Momonga nodded and asked. He didn't really want to interrupt such a heartwarming moment, but he was curious about the information they'd gathered.
"We patrolled the area. There isn't anything particularly strong around here. And that True Dragon Lord mentioned in your intel… there's no sign of it at all."
"The strongest thing we found was just a small mouse, around level 30. I asked around, and it's called the 'Wise King of the Forest.'"
"It's not that strong, but its fur is pretty nice. You could skin it and make leather. But since Father-sama only told us to gather information, we didn't touch it."
"The forest outpost is finished too. We placed illusion magic all around it. We had to rush, so it's not as thorough as it could be, but without at least level 80 strength, no one's getting in. It should be usable for now."
After thinking it over, Aura reported everything they'd found to Naohara.
Since Mare had the class [Druid], the forest was practically home for the two of them—especially given that they were Dark Elves to begin with.
On top of that, Aura had the Beast Tamer class, which made gathering information in the forest much easier for her. That was exactly why Naohara and the others had decided to send them here.
"Good. You did well."
Naohara smiled at them, clearly pleased with how his two children had performed.
"Now tell me—what reward do you want?"
At the same time, he remembered the Wise King of the Forest. In the original story, it was the giant hamster Momonga had tamed.
Hmm.
Cute… or more like cute and fierce. Level 30 monsters weren't common in this world. In the eyes of ordinary people, that thing was a genuine powerhouse, a terrifying hero-class monster.
If you converted it, it was roughly on par with a fully armed Warrior Captain.
Of course, to them, it was just an adorable pet. Without his order, that so-called "Wise King of the Forest" would probably have already ended up in Nazarick by now.
Just… in the form of leather.
So in a way, he'd indirectly saved its life. What a great philanthropist he was, Naohara mused to himself.
"No need. Being able to stay by Father-sama's side is already the best reward for us."
"Mm. Sister's right."
Aura and Mare clung to Naohara. They didn't want any reward. For them, this moment was more than enough.
"Tsk."
Herohero stood off to the side. For someone like him—no, for a Slime—this whole scene was enough to make him jealous.
"Kind of makes me want to go see Solution."
Thinking about his own "child," Herohero felt a wave of nostalgia. He also wanted a warm, affectionate moment like that.
But Solution had already been sent out on a mission. Herohero sighed. If she were still in Nazarick, he could've secretly slipped back and spent some time with her.
Momonga, on the other hand, remained silent. He was carefully going over the intelligence Aura had reported, analyzing the potential risks.
He did feel a little moved by the scene in front of him—but he had no urge to seek out Pandora. The two of them would probably never have the kind of interaction Naohara and Aura just shared.
He remembered being influenced like this before, which led him to go see Pandora.
Momonga clearly recalled sneaking in late at night, still in his white form, full of anticipation for some kind of heartwarming "father and son" moment.
He certainly wasn't disappointed.
He and Pandora had a very thorough "father and son" exchange. Afterward, glowing green from head to toe, he fled the mausoleum in a panic.
"Sigh… was something seriously wrong with me back then? Why on earth did I design him like that?"
Just thinking about it made the top of Momonga's skull ache faintly.
Completely unaware of his friend's inner turmoil, Naohara happily continued stroking their heads. This really was the most comforting thing.
Running his fingers through their dark-gold hair, he couldn't help thinking that elves truly had incredible hair quality. Smooth and glossy, like they used premium shampoo.
"Oh right, Aura, Mare. Have you found any Goblins nearby?"
Naohara paused mid head-pat as he finally remembered they were supposed to be on a mission. He turned to the two of them.
After all, no one understood the forest better than two Dark Elves with the Ranger and Druid class.
Momonga and Herohero also shifted their attention over. They had just remembered they actually had a quest to complete. They'd gotten so carried away playing around that they nearly forgot.
"Is Father-sama going personally? If you'd like, we can capture those pieces of trash for you."
Aura snapped out of her contentment and thought for a moment, then pointed toward the distance.
"There are quite a lot of Goblins over there. There's a huge cave with probably a few hundred inside. Mare and I caught a few earlier, killed them, and had a little fun with them. Hehe."
"Over there?"
Naohara nodded.
He didn't comment on his children killing Goblins for fun. Expecting two Dark Elves with negative karma values to behave like saints was unrealistic.
Besides, even if Aura hadn't killed them, the three of them were about to anyway. The only difference was whether the Goblins died a little earlier or a little later.
"Aura, Mare. Continue your mission. Once I'm done here, I'll notify you. Then we'll go find the Wise King of the Forest together."
Naohara patted their heads again, signaling it was time to part.
"Yes, Father-sama. And to the two sirs as well—we'll be going now."
Reluctantly letting go, Aura and Mare waved goodbye. Then they leapt up into the trees, hopping swiftly from branch to branch until they disappeared into the distance.
"Alright. Momonga, Blackie, let's go. Time to kill some Goblins."
The moment Aura and Mare were gone, Naohara instantly switched back to his usual carefree self and grinned at the two of them.
"Yeah… we should get moving too."
Herohero let out a strange chuckle. The next second, his hands transformed into pitch-black tentacles and lashed straight toward Naohara.
"Hey! A sneak attack? That's just low, you little—"
Naohara had already been on guard. He dodged in a flash, and the tentacles struck nothing but air. His figure reappeared atop a tree branch as he looked down and laughed.
Then he immediately began bounding through the trees, heading toward the Goblin cave.
"Get back here."
Herohero retracted his tentacles, returned to his thief form, and leapt after him.
"You two…"
Momonga shook his head with a helpless smile. He resumed his earlier disguise, waved his staff, and cast his spell. His body lifted into the air once more as he flew after them.