CH 168.2

The water temperature is slightly over zero Degree Celsius. The depth is ten thousand meters.

(There is no way it will follow me there)

The world that Tauro is in, is said to be a place that is even further than the moon.

It will take a high ranking magician many years of preparation to even have a chance to reach that place. That is the kind of place that Tauro is at.

Even so, Zaratan prayed and decided to stay at this location for half a day.

(That is right, I need a present)

It had completely forgotten but it wanted to bring some kind of present over there.

(What will be good I wonder)

A caterpillar and a pill bug. It thought of the figures of the two spirit beasts and pondered.

But it seems like it did not have anything on hand that the two would be happy to receive.

If so then, or so it thought. The master of the two spirit beasts. What about the humanoid living thing?

(Hmm)

The one that rode on its back in the past and gave it the permission to build an inn. That person was also a humanoid living thing.

The thing that that person left behind. It should have kept it somewhere.

(Let me just give him that)

It has been many years since that person has left this world. There should be no problem if it gives it to someone else.

Zaratan deployed a small magic circle, using teleportation magic, it linked the two spaces together.

Storage rooms, that have been created in various parts of the world. It has the memory that it left it in one of them.

(It has become quite torn down)

When it checked after a long time, the contents within the storage room had been stolen by several invaders.

However, it was fortunate that it could still find what it was looking for. The ship that was sunk in the sea of ice, it had placed it in one of the rooms inside it and it seems like no one has come to that place.

(Which one will be good I wonder)

The image that came to its mind is tens of books that are lined up on the desk.

Zaratan picked one of the books. It chose a book that has been bound with a magnificent black leather.

(It seems like that person has cherished it. There is no mistaking that it is something of value)

It let out a big nod under water causing the water currents to stir up the sediments at the bottom of the ocean

Zaratan closed its eyes and spent half a day just like this while remembering the taste of the fruit.

The time and stage returns to the Forest Garden where the rain let up.

The water surface of the pond that shines brightly as it reflects the morning sunlight.

There, the figure of a tortoise that is silently swimming over can be seen. The number – one. From a brief glance, the length of its shell is around twenty centimeters.

「It is the tortoise from the other day」

After I got out of the Forest Garden, I put my familiars, one on top of my head and the other on my hand, and I headed for the pond thereafter.

There are still droplets of rain from yesterday night on the blades of grass and they got my leg, which is wearing a sandal, wet.

「Hmm? Are you regretful?」

The waves that were sent over by Imosuke and Dangorou – we have been had again, I did not notice.

From their reflection of the previous incident, it seems like they have made preparations to guard against it but it was broken through easily.

The two that cannot swim. As expected, it seems like both of them do not do well against water.

The tortoise has an air that suggests it does not realize these feelings of my familiars. It turns its head to face Imosuke as it approaches the shore.

I crouch down with Imosuke on my head and I put Dangorou, which I was holding with my hand, down on the ground.

『I am sorry to intrude』

Imosuke relays the words spoken by the tortoise.

It seems like the tortoise did not sense that it had broken through the protection. There are no signs that it has realized.

Though unfortunate, it seems like in the territory known as water, my familiars are no match for it.

「Its atmosphere is quite different from the one in the illustration」

I will once again observe it closely.

The name given to this tortoise is Zaratan.

The figure I saw in the encyclopedia with illustrations was huge and it had a haughty air. However, it seems like the real thing has more manners than I had imagined.

「Whoa!」

A black book suddenly appears in front of my eyes.

The book floating within is bound with magnificent leather and it seems to be as big as an encyclopedia.

「A gift?」

According to what Imosuke says, it seems like it was thanks for the Pomelos the other day.

「Heav-」

It is as heavy as it looks. For now, with me in my crouching posture, I decided to place it on my lap.

The tortoise is glancing between me and Imosuke. It seems like Imosuke does not realize but I knew its feelings.

「We still have more Pomelos so, do you need some?」

I did not even need to wait for Imosuke to relay the reply from the tortoise with regards to that. Even I know that it is overjoyed.

「Please wait for a while」

I head back to the room with Imosuke on my head. It seems like Dangorou will continue to act as a lookout at that place.

Placing the heavy book in the room, and in its stead, I picked up one out of the many Pomelos that is scattered about on the floor and returned to the shore.

「Here」

When I placed the Pomelo in front of its eyes, it immediately got closer to the Pomelo.

Similar to the last time, the Pomelo shrunk in size to the size that is about as large as a mini-tomato.

「Oh?」

I thought it was going to devour it and head home but it starts to eat it on the spot with fervor.

「It seems like that is its favourite」

I observe this sight without a care in the world.

A scene of an animal eating. I do not get bored of it as long as it is not a carnivore. I also frequently gaze at Imosuke chewing on leaves after all.

In the end, I continued gazing at it until it finished eating, leaving not a single trace of Pomelo behind.

Before I realized it, the Heavy Lancers have also gathered.

「What is it?」

The tortoise that has finished eating glanced between me and Imosuke once again.

As I am about to get up as I thought that it wanted more Pomelos, I receive a relay from Imosuke.

「It says it wants to live here」

According to the tortoise, it seems like this environment is extremely good. It will not cause any trouble so it wants to live here.

This pond was something created by me and Dangorou. And the surrounding trees were grown and taken care of by Imosuke.

It does not feel bad being praised by someone.

But I have one thing I am curious about.

「As you can see, the season for Pomelos is already over. Even so, is that alright?」

The tree with many thorns, that is going healthily at the shore of the pond. I point at that to emphasize my point.

If the aim of the tortoise is the Pomelos, then it will probably be disappointed.

After gazing at that for a while, the tortoise started exchanging words with Imosuke.

「It will come to bear fruit once again next year」

Only the waves that are sent by Imosuke is delivered to my brain.

The tortoise that heard that the season will never come again sunk to the depths of despair at first. However, after it heard that it will bear new fruit when the season returns, it seems like the tortoise became lively once again.

「Then the two of you, both of you are fine if I am alright with it?」

When I confirm with my familiars, they gave me a huge nod.

I meet eyes with the tortoise and used Imosuke as an interpreter to convey my answer to it.

「I do not mind but I have a condition」

After it heard my words, the tortoise raised its head slightly.

「I will leave the management of this pond in your hands so maintain it well. I will approve of you living here if you are able to do this」

Cleaning up the pond is troublesome.

Especially in seasons like this one, algae grow and pollute the water. As long as this is the water that the Heavy Lancers drink, I cannot put off maintaining it.

I will greatly appreciate it if the tortoise accepts this condition.

The tortoise closed its eyes slowly and popped it open. From how it is acting, I see it as the tortoise showing that it accepts that condition.

『I know, I know. I look forward to working for you from now on』

Almost immediately, I can hear a voice reverberating from Imosuke with the answer I expected.

Just like this, the tortoise known as Zaratan became a new inhabitant at the Forest Garden.