Chapter 216
Over's Seed [Part 1]
"Ooohh. The ground is hollowed out..."
George peered into the crater formed by the landing of the Over seed from Kan-chan's back.
"...It's much more terrible than what I had imagined."
William, who had read and memorized all the information about Over, broke out in a cold sweat when he saw the terrible spectacle before his very eyes. Fukushima had told him that they would need to ride the carriage for another couple of hours to reach the colony of Overs, but the seed had actually flown across such a distance.
"Let's go down there! Koumei-san, please?"
"Meow!"
As her curiosity got the better of her, Emma began to descend to the bottom of the crater while still riding Koumei.
"Ah! Wait! Nee-sama!"
"Emma! That's dangerous! Wait, oi! Hey! I say wait!"
Emma would not be Emma if she would wait when someone told her to wait.
George and William hurriedly followed after Emma and Koumei.
Although it was called a plant, it was still a monster. It wouldn't be surprising if something else was going on down there.
"Koumei-san, is the ground hot?"
"Meow mew!"
"So it's not hot, huh? ...Despite it being called a crater, is it not hot because it isn't formed by a meteorite crash?"
"Meow~"
Emma sank into contemplation.
One crater.
A hole of about twenty meters in diameter was made by a single crash of Over 's seed.
Over is growing in mass. The impact will be tremendous if the seeds fall in tens, hundreds, thousands, or ten thousands.
It wouldn't be a wonder if the country perishes because it truly has an undeniable destructive power.
"This thing... Even if it had fallen on hard bedrock, the bedrock would have been the one that got smashed to pieces, wouldn't it, Koumei-san?"
And not just bedrock, but carriages, houses, and just about everything.
The brothers caught up to Emma, who had gotten off from Koumei's back.
"Geez, Nee-sama, at least wait until we make sure it's safe...!"
"Gah! T-That! Emma, William, run!"
The center of the crater was swelling up like it was about to burst.
"What's thattt?"
"Emma! You idiot— Run! Koumei-san, I'll entrust her to you!"
"Meow!"
The moment George tried to move away from the center while pulling Emma, who wanted to peek closer, something inside the ground burst.
The crater spewed dirt out in all directions, even beyond its circumference.
"Kyaa!"
"Whoa—"
"Ahh!"
The three siblings had their views obstructed by the rising cloud of dust, and dirt showered all over them.
Each of their cats had protected them, but because dirt had also gushed out from below, they couldn't defend against it and were covered in it from head to toe.
Their bodies right now would have been muddy if the rice fields had been irrigated.
♠♠♠
"Ptui... Is everyone alright?"
"Blegh, ugh, pretty much alright..."
"Peh... my mouth is full of sand... What was that earlier?"
They could finally talk when the cloud of dust had subsided to a certain extent.
While brushing off the dirt from Emma and William's heads, George checked the bodies of his younger sister and brother for any injuries.
"I think... the capsule just split open... It was also written in the materials, you know?" said William as he stared at his older brother.
"There's a huge difference between reading it and experiencing it firsthand, isn't there?" Emma laughed excitedly, as if she was enjoying the situation.
"Emma, you... Seriously, give it a break..."
"Even with the way Joshua reminded her earlier, it's still not enough, huh..."
"Huh?"
Emma looked on in wonder as her older and younger brother drooped their heads, but she couldn't do that for long as Melsa caught up to them shortly and scolded her upon arrival.
"Emma? It's dangerous, isn't it? You're a girl! What are you going to do if you get another wound?!"
"Mother! I'm alright! See, no injuries!"
"That isn't what I meant!!! I have told you not to do anything dangerous, haven't I?!"
"Uuhhh... Forgive me, Mother... I swear I will be careful from now on."
"...Do you still remember just how many times you have said that in this one and a half years?! Why do you always break your own promise right after making it?"
Melsa sighed while pressing her temple.
"Now, now, Melsa. It's good that everyone's safe!"
"Up we go," Leonard, who came right after Melsa, held Emma up in his arms.
"...Even so, my daughter is still so cute despite being covered in dirt."
"Dear!"
"Mm-hmm. Melsa is beautiful even when she's angry."
"...Geez, you..."
Emma gets scolded → Leonard shields her → Melsa gets praised.
This was the scolding pattern of the Stuart family every single time. Except for the fact that George and William were puking out actual sand this time.
[T/N: puking sand is the Japanese term for puking rainbows]