The twelfth floor was the opposite of the eleventh floor. It was filled with trees that were fluorescent with a slight luminous hue.

  The pastel colors have calmed my eyes a bit, but the fluorescent colors were a bit much.

  “This is… flashy.”


  (Yeah, very flashy~)

  Not only was I stunned, but everyone else was as well.

  (Gyaa——!)

  As we were all looking around the forest, we suddenly heard a cry that sounded like a scream.

  “W, what was that?”


  “”Unya!””


  The scream was so loud. Very painful to the ears.

  (Oniichan, over there!)

  “A Noisebird!”


  There were numerous colorful parrot-like bird monsters in the direction Joule was pointing.

  As the name suggests, they were noisy birds.

  “So noisy!——Wind Cutter.”


  “”Waterball.””


  When I fired my magic spell while grimacing, the children also fired theirs one after another.

  (Gyaa——!)

  We shot out our magic at random, but were able to kill most of the Noisebirds. However, there must have been some that we failed to kill, and a few of the Noisebirds flew away.

  “Haah~”


  “”It’s quiet~””


  “Yeah. That’s one hell of a monster.”


  The noise from earlier disappeared as if it was never here.

  (Some of the birds escaped, though~)

  (But I can’t bring myself to chase after them~~~)

  Joule and Vector were collapsed on their stomachs on the ground. Oh, and Feat, too.

  All three of them have better hearing than we do, so they must have been highly stimulated. Still… this may have been the first time we have let monsters we found escape.

  (I wonder if the feathers scattered about are drops?)

  (There’s a lot of them!)

  Bolt and Mile didn’t seem to take that much damage, and were picking up the loot from the Noisebirds we had defeated.

  “Allen will pick too~”


  “Elena will pick as well~”


  “I’m going too. Joule, Feat, and Vector, you guys rest.”


  (I’m sorry, Oniichan~)

  (Niisama, pardon me.)

  (Ugh~)

  I let the three animals that were still in pain rest, and we decided to collect the loot.

  “Feathers, pretty!”


  “Indeed.”


  The Noisebird’s feathers were small, but they came in a variety of colors, so they could be turned into various decorations.

  (Huh? Aniue, I found something that’s not a feather.)

  “”Really~””


  “N? What did you find?”


  “”It’s this~””


  (A metal rod?)

  Allen and Elena picked up what Bolt had found and brought it to me.

  It was a metal rod that was a little thinner than my pinky finger. There was more than one of these, too.

  “What is.”


  “This~?”


  “Erm… ah, it’s a flute.”


  When I looked it up with Appraisal, I found that it was a flute.

  I took the flute and blew on it, and—Pii~! And it made a beautiful, high-pitched sound.

  “It’s quite loud. This could be used as a signal, don’t you think?”


  “”Signal~?””


  “Yes, let’s say you all went gathering separately. And so, when I blew on this flute, it would spell the end. Wouldn’t it be a good to use as ‘Get back to me~’ signal?”


  “”Ohh~””


  “Also, let’s see~ It could be also used as ‘Come over here~’ signal when you find something somewhere.”


  “”Call~?””


  “That’s right, you can use it to call us over.”


  “”Come over here~?””


  “Yeah.”


  There were smoke and light bombs, but they were for emergencies.

  But this flute would be much easier to use. We just got a bunch of them, so each of us can have one.

  “Try blowing on it.”


  “”Okay, will try~!””


  I let the children choose their favorite colored flute and try it out, and they made a beautiful sound.

  “Yep, sounds good. When we hear this sound, we will follow it to the source. Let’s make it a rule.”


  “”Okay, got it!””


  “Ah, no blowing the flutes to prank others, okay?”


  “”No pranks!””


  “Also… Just because you hear this sound doesn’t necessarily mean it’s me, so remember to be vigilant when heading to the location of the sound. Okay?”


  “”Yes!””


  “Alright, good kids! Put the flutes in your pouches.”


  Allen and Elena hurriedly put the flutes in their pouches.

  Well, there is still an element of uncertainty, but it could be very convenient.

  “Joule, Feat, Vector, did you hear what we discussed just now~?”


  (Yes, we heard. All’s good!)

  (Roger that, Niisama.)

  (Got it~)

  Joule and the others can’t blow the flute, but when they hear the sound of the flute, they will gather at the location of the sound.

  Bolt and Mile were together with Allen and Elena and nodding in understanding while I was explaining, so when I confirmed with the Joule and the other two resting animals, all three nodded that they understood.

  “Are you okay now?”


  (Yes, I have calmed down.)

  After we finished picking up the loot, I checked on Joule and others’ physical condition before resuming.

  “Then, where do we go next, Allen, Elena?”


  “”That way~!””


  We walked along, more wary of the Noisebirds than necessary so that we wouldn’t have to go through the same thing again.

  “”There they come!””


  As soon as someone spotted a Noisebird, they attacked it with a magic attack before it could get close. Each attack was basically an overreaction.

  I’m not as good as Joule and the others, but I have better hearing than most people because of my physical abilities, and I don’t want to experience a noise attack again. So, I didn’t stop everyone, even if it was an overkill.

  “Oniichan.”


  “Look, look~”


  “What is it?”


  “Flute~”


  “So small~”


  The flute that Allen and Elena brought was a little-type flute.

  “How small~ It’s as big as the size of one of your finger joints?”


  (Takumi Nii. I want that one!)

  As we were checking the length of the flute in Allen’s palm by placing his own little finger along it, Mile climbed up into Allen’s palm.

  “N? Oh, Mile would be probably able to use this one.”


  (Right!)

  “Mile, okay~”


  “Here you go~”


  (Thank you.)

  Elena picked up the flute from Allen’s palm and offered it to Mile.

  “Mile, try blowing on it.”


  (Okay!)

  The flute sounded good, and the weight was not a problem, so I hooked it to the bracelet Mile wore around her neck.

  “Oh, looking good!”


  (Right!)

  The short flute was silver, so it looked like a pendant.

  “”Coming again—!””


  “Again?”


  Just as I was about to pick up the rest of the loot, the Noise horde came again.

  Well, they were easily defeated, though.

  “”A strange flute~?””


  And this time, there seemed to be a bird-shaped flute.

  “Allen, try blowing on it.”


  “Okay.”


  When Allen blew the flute, it made a——Pirororo~? sound.

  “”Ohh~””


  Finding it amusing, Allen and Elena took turns blowing the flute.

  “It’s like a toy.”


  “”A toy!””


  When I decided that the flute was a toy because it didn’t sound very loud, and it sounded very different, Allen and Elena’s eyes sparkled.

  “”Luca-chan’s toy!””


  “Oh, I see. That’s a good idea.”


  That being the case, the bird-shaped flute was to be Lucario-kun’s souvenir.