FFF-Class Trashero

[32nd Round] Do You Know Carrots?

“I finally found him… Oh! I’ll be going to the bathroom for a while.”

I didn’t delay.

After giving the bathroom excuse to avoid suspicion at the tennis court, I immediately jumped through space.

Pod!

The two dogs then guided me.

“Maaang!”

“Gaaang!”

“… What about my brother?”

“Maaang?”

“Gaaang?”

“Ha…”

Their stupidity was so immense they were starting to bring shame to the name of hellhounds.

But it wasn’t completely in vain.

In front of me was a luxurious mansion with a rustic design reminiscent of the Demon Lord’s Castle, the predecessor of my tower.

I couldn’t find the house owner, but there were traces of someone living here until recently.

“Was my brother hiding here?”

It seemed the two dogs had found his hideout deep in this forest. I didn’t know which country or province this was in, but it had to have been quite a distance from where I lived.

Pop!

“Have you found him, husband?”

A beat later, Ssosia appeared beside me.

“No. He probably noticed and ran away before I could get here.”

“That’s amazing. You might not be aware of this, but Manggu and Ganggu’s tracking abilities are beyond extraordinary.”

“Is that so?”

That alone made it clear that he was no ordinary human being.

It looked like I’d have to choose another crucial decision again.

Should I search this area intensively, or should I keep searching extensively?

Or…

Should I stop the search since he might no longer be on this planet?

I had been worried about it ever since.

“What are you going to do?”

“… I have to find him. I know we already discovered and took advantage of the Dark Energy utilization earlier, but as his older brother, shouldn’t I meet him at least once?”

“That’s right.”

Besides, he avoided my eyes, I, who was a ‘god.’

If he had been a simple human, I would’ve already caught him using my own detection ability, eliminating the need to mobilize people.

For example, even now, I knew where my mother was and what she was doing.

… She was gossiping about me.

It was because Sleloli, whom I gave to her as a pet, took the form of a pretty girl and retold countless stories about my past.

‘Listen to this, master. Your son beat me up in the past.’

‘Oh! He hit a dragon as cute as you?’

‘Yes. He relentlessly kicked my ass and strangled me. Sniff.’

‘I’m disappointed. To think my son only pretended to be normal in front of me but actually enjoyed such a sadistic hobby when I’m not looking…’

‘Please protect me, master.’

‘You don’t have to worry about my son from now on, Sleloli. If you listen to me carefully, he won’t hurt you.’

‘O-okay…”

I gave that lizard to my mother to serve as her car and maid, but it was snitching on me without evidence.

That grayish dragon would have to be disciplined in private later.

“Hey~ Seeing this reminds me of the old days~”

Ssosia playfully swung a rocking chair back and forth.

“When exactly?”

I didn’t have that even in the Demon Lord’s Castle.

“Quite a long time ago, when I still admired my mother since I didn’t know yet that she was a bad being that would try to steal my husband from me. Dad, mom, and I used to live together in a house just like this.”

“Your dad, huh…”

Now that I thought about it, my father-in-law Pedonar also disappeared and was nowhere to be seen.

After leaving the family business to me, his son-in-law, he immediately left and was probably doing really well somewhere in the universe.

I felt bad, thinking I was forced to pay off my father-in-law’s debt.

Ding-dong!

Someone rang the doorbell of my brother’s hideout.

Whoever it was, it was unlikely to be involved with my brother. Perhaps it was just Neighbor A, remaining oblivious to this entire situation.

However, we were so deep in the mountain that this place probably didn’t have many visitors…

I decided to meet them for now.

“Wife.”

“Alright. Wait.”

I sent out the two dogs to the yard and my wife to meet our guest.

I looked around the interior of my brother’s hideout a little more.

Creaakk…

The rocking chair kept standing out.

“… I feel like I’m missing an important clue.”

I just couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Husband, say hello. He’s your brother’s guest.”

“His guest?”

After listening to his business, I thought Ssosia would send her away, but he was invited inside instead.

He looked like an ordinary farmer, but his charred face was very unusual.

“You’re Hanjin’s older brother? You two don’t look like each other at all. Haha! Anyway, nice to meet you. I am but a farmer that grows carrots around here.”

After introducing himself, he took a carrot out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“Uh… Thank you.”

“Carrots are amazing since they contain a lot of Vitamin A. If you’re a Hero aiming for the top, you must take care of your vision. In that case, the health of your eyes should be prioritized, right?”

“…”

The appearance of carrots here was a bit unusual, but what was even more ridiculous was the farmer discussing it with so much passion.

At that time, Ssosia tried to help me by pretending not to know anything.

“I am his mother’s tennis senior. She told me to teach him how to play the sport.”

My mother’s tennis senior?

“What brought you here?” I asked.

“I came to give Hanjin some of the carrots I harvested yesterday. This villa is a secret place only we know. Isn’t its view really nice? This is a rare place on this polluted planet.”

Well, as he said, this wintry scene filled with pure white snow and green pine trees was breathtaking.

But that was weird.

“Is it possible to grow carrots in this cold weather?”

“With sincerity, anything is possible. What is scarier than the weather is the heart of a grower.”

“…”

If anything were possible with sincerity, terms like seasonal food and tropical fruit wouldn’t have been popularized.

But when the farmer handed out a carrot still covered in dirt, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was actually possible.

“My brother’s currently missing. Do you have any idea where he went?”

“Hmm? We met and had a conversation like any other day yesterday, but he was missing? Hmm. It seems he came here without telling his mother.”

“Yesterday…”

He went missing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and got here on the same day?

If he took an airplane, he could go anywhere on the planet in one day, but there was little time difference based on his story.

It was as if he suddenly appeared here as soon as he disappeared.

That was not a feat ordinary humans could attain.

Since there was no way he was a Fantasy graduate, was my younger brother really a high-level demon?

This was confusing me so much.

“Huh? That’s…”

The farmer stopped abruptly amid his explanation about all the benefits carrots could bring, his expression screaming his terror.

“Don’t panic. That iridescent slime does not harm anyone. Rather, he actually helps in developing—”

“Mollan.”

“Huh?”

He knew?

How could a farmer from Earth know of Master Mollan when even Fantasy savages were unaware of him?

“The slime is a pet from a man I don’t like.”

“How…”

“Hanjin’s older brother. Look at the world with a broader perspective and a humble heart. The person you considered insignificant might just grow up to rule the entire universe, including yourself.”

“…”

He was no ordinary farmer.

I felt that way from the moment we met, but I was convinced when he blatantly showed he knew the Great Being.

Seemingly reading my mind, he continued immediately.

“I taught Hanjin how to live. Even though that young man couldn’t even digest half of the 623,185,307,199,986 farming methods that I created, I grew quite attached to him since he had been my disciple for quite a long time. I can’t believe he suddenly disappeared… I’ll have to go home and grow some carrots. I shouldn’t have taken in a student…”

Taking a deep breath, the man gently put down the box of carrots he was holding and turned around.

“Mollan?” My master mumbled, sounding doubtful.

“I’m sorry for overreacting to your presence, ordinary mollan. Your ancestors’ master and I simply have a few disagreements, so don’t worry about it.”

“Mollan…”

The moment I heard the farmer’s words, I felt like I was struck by lightning.

The only being that could be called Master Mollan’s ancestor was Pope Mollan.

And the deity who owned him…

The Ignorant War God.

A fraudulent monster with Providence all over his body.

“How do you know the War God?”

“I was his teacher.”

“Huh?”

That was beyond my expectations.

“Looking at your cute Mollan, you must be very close to him. However, never speak of me around him, got that? I’d like to avoid having to hit my junior’s son with carrots.”

The farmer tried to leave once more.

When we first met, he just looked strange to me, but now that he had turned around, I couldn’t help but notice how wide his shoulders and back were.

Now that I looked closer, his spine was also quite amazing.

“Hold on. Are you going to leave after acting all suspicious?”

My brother was no longer the problem here.

The suspicious farmer in front of me was.

I saw my new hopes and dreams in him.

[Hero]

I activated my Providence.

People who had disagreements with the Ignorant God of War yet still lived to tell the tale couldn’t be that common.

If my guess was correct…

“… Hanjin often told me that his brother is an impeccable warrior.”

He spoke calmly, showing no hints of surprise.

No, one couldn’t see Providence unless they were a true god in the first place.

But I still couldn’t identify him.

Hence, I asked bluntly.

“What kind of god are you?”

“What kind of god do you think I am?”

“…”

Did he just answer my question with a question?

I hated that technique quite a lot.

Inadvertently, I stretched my right hand out between his 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae.

Did I make a mistake?

As soon as I tried to attack him, the corners of his mouth curved upwards as he gave my movements a mocking stare, almost as if my offensive was so weak I wasn’t even worth responding to.

“Ah.”

Tok.

The carrot he was holding hit the back of my hand, causing my strike to miss.

“…”

I glanced at my right hand.

In one calm motion, he broke it.

Feeling like I just received a jolt of lightning directly to my muscles, I trembled.

“I made it impossible for you to use your hand, but you’re only ever so slightly trembling at this fact. You truly aren’t normal.”

“… Who are you?” I asked again.

Did he notice I wouldn’t let him go quietly like this?

He didn’t seem to want to cause a bigger mess since he was in hiding. Hence, he answered my questions politely this time.

“I am the god who has been deprived of 314,159,265,358,993 swordsmanships by the Ignorant God of War.”

The moment I heard those words, I realized.

“Mollanroid?”

When I mentioned the army of androids equipped with terrifying swordsmanship, he replied a little differently from what I expected.

“You look like you’ve already fought them. Good. You pass.”

『A certain perfect sword god continues to hand a certain righteous divine being carrots.』

“Sword god..”

A certain sword god handed me a carrot.

“What do you think of swords?”

“…”

After Fantasy, I had to deal with martial arts now?

Why wouldn’t these gods give me a break…