บท 7: Close combat maid.

"Lara…"

Mark stared at the small back in front of him and something seemed to spark in his mind.

'That's right…' He thought. 'Why didn't I realize it sooner!'

Time ran out before he could think of something to say. The monster was back in its feet and preparing to charge at them, while Lara had lowered her posture readying herself to engage.

The two moved at the same time, meeting halfway through the open space with the giant lizard swinging at the maid with its right claws. Taking advantage of her smaller size, Lara evaded the beast by closing the distance between them before launching her glowing fist in an uppercut

The punch landed on the monster's long jaw causing its head to snap back, but unlike the first time, it didn't go flying. Lara wasn't done with her attack just yet. Her form seemed to collapse as she lowered herself to the ground in an instant. She then stretched her leg and spun around kicking the abomination and sweeping it off its legs, causing it to fall on its back.

Mark was stunned for a moment, but then he remembered what his task was and quickly ran over to the children. Though he still had his doubts, the craziness that had been happening ever since he woke up convinced him that the maid would be fine. If she really was the same Lara Becker from his game, she should be strong enough to survive no matter the odds.

"C'mon! Let's go!"

Arriving at the corner, Mark quickly picked up the youngest child and pulled the other two to their feet. The former latched onto him and started sobbing while the other two struggled to walk with their pants drenched in urine.

"Hurry!" He yelled. "We need to get out of here!"

'But go where?'

The main road was at best full of frenzied crowds fleeing and at worst blocked by more monsters. With three traumatized children with him, he couldn't hope to get very far, and his stamina was going to run out soon whether he liked it or not.

Then there was Lara. He wanted to get back to her as soon as he could, even if his presence was entirely useless.

'Master my ass…' he gritted his teeth while running to the nearby alley. 'I can't do shit!'

In the game, the maids acted like party members in an RPG, but the protagonist was supposed to always be at the front facing the monsters head-on. A big part of the game is building him up so he can earn the maids' respect and affection. It was even possible to beat it without relying on their assistance. Compared to the powerful MC, Mark was nothing but a scrawny loser who's barely able to run while carrying a child. He never was in a fight his entire life so there was no way he would survive against that abomination.

'Damn it all'

[Lara defeated Malarak's Spawn (Fallen).]

[+15 AP]

'... What?'

Coming to a stop, Mark tried to gaze at the lines of text that appeared in the bottom left corner of his field of vision. He was confused for a moment, turning around to look behind him. Not long after, he saw Lara's distinct silver hair appear at the other end of the alley. She had some red stains on her face and maid uniform, but the blood clearly wasn't hers.

"Master…" arriving at his side, the maid glared at him with her ruby eyes, clearly upset. "I believe I told you to escort them to safety?"

Mark's eyes were like saucers as he stared at the maid, but before he could ask the sound of gunfire brought his attention back to their situation. Despite having a lot of questions, he was sensible enough to recognize that this wasn't the proper time.

"I don't think we should go this way." He said. "Are things safe back there?"

Lara answered after a moment of thought.

"I have already dealt with the Fallen. I believe there is nothing to be concerned about."

'The what?' He was going to ask but the sound of gunfire distracted him again.

"Let's go."

Mark was about to start walking but then came to a stop, turning his gaze to the two boys. They were still sobbing, and he wasn't sure they were going to listen to him.

"We should find their parents." He said.

"And how do you suggest we do that, Master?" Lara asked. "You do not live in the area, and we can barely navigate around on our own."

She was right. Mark has never been to this part of the city so he had no idea where he was going. With how chaotic things were he didn't even get the chance to check his phone so they were essentially running blindly the whole time.

Mark turned to one of the two boys hoping to learn something useful.

"Hey, kid." He crouched down before him. "You live around here, don't you?"

The boy opened his eyes and looked at him only for the tears to return the next moment.

"No! Don't cry! This is not the time to cry!!!" He yelled at him, which only made things worse.

"We… we live in the same building…" the other boy said, fighting the tears.

"It's okay. You did well." Lara crouched down in front of him and patted his head. She wore a warm smile －one Mark didn't imagine she was capable of showing－ and her voice was much gentler than what he expected from the fictional character he created. "Can you show us the way?"

The boy stopped sobbing in no time and pointed in the direction they came from.

"It's… It's there, on the other side…"

Lara looked up at Mark, waiting for his decision. He was still in a daze after what he had just witnessed so it took him a few seconds to adjust, and once he did, he made his choice in a snap.

"We will return and check the backdoor. If it's open, we will try reaching their homes. If not, we will take them with us."

Lara pushed herself up and looked him in the eyes.

"Understood."

The warm smile had disappeared and she was back to donning her usual stone mask. Saving yet another question for later, Mark began to walk only to halt a second later. He recalled the bluish glow coating Lara's fist as she punched the abomination and a sense of unease crawled over him. He didn't have much time to think about it so he turned to the maid with an order.

"Unless the situation is completely desperate, don't ever show your strength. Avoid fighting at all costs, especially when others are watching."

He waited for a few seconds before he got his reply, but this time the maid only nodded, making him feel as if she had something different in mind.