CH 238.1

The turtle is moving quietly toward me in the center of the pond in the garden forest.

「Training huh…」

I expressed my impressions as I watched from the edge of the pond.

Zaratan, who has been tasked with bringing in a new magic beast, is practicing to carry the guests.

「Alright, I guess I’ll go training too so my skills don’t get rusty」

The 『White Lady』 that has become a problem to handle. I learned how to harvest it and bought a knife and leather gloves.

I want to try it at least one more time, because it will go to waste if I don’t.

「It’s going to take a little longer for the magic beasts to get here, so I’d better remove those that can be seen from the living room」

There was no telling if Jayanne’s concierge, Cool-san, or maybe Lightning would unexpectedly pay a visit.

It will be a bit troublesome if they look at the garden and think, 『Could that be a White Lady?』.

I went back to my room with a leather bag in each hand, and went to the garden again with two knives.

「These few ones particularly stand out」

I lay down on my stomach and inserted my knife into the mushroom’s pith. About two-thirds of the way in, I insert the knife in my left hand from a right angle.

This caused the white lady to fall backwards, exposing the underside of its umbrella to my eyes.

The only thing to watch out for is the poisonous liquid oozing out of the cut. I’ll be fine as long as I don’t touch it.

「Getting wet after seeing me, what a naughty Lady you are」

I place the mushrooms in a small wooden box.

This is the box where I bought the pharmacist’s equipment, test tubes and test tube holders. 『Andale’s pharmacist store』 is branded on it, which is pretty cool.

「I guess that’s about it」

I harvested about three of them. I’m going to leave the crates in the garden and wait for them to dry naturally.

If I put them in glass jars and display them in the cupboard, I might look a little like a real pharmacist.

『You going to eat it after all?』

Imosuke who was sitting on top of the pomelo asked me. But before I could answer, Dangorou on the ground spoke up.

『If you are going to eat it, it might be wait for a bit』

Just like the leaves, the best time to eat them is when they fall to the ground and turn black. Imosuke seemed to disagree with this claim. He twisted his head in disagreement.

Neither of them eats the White Lady, so I guess they’re talking about their own preferences. It seems that caterpillars and dung beetles have different eating preferences.

「No, I won’t eat it. Or rather, I can’t. So don’t bring them to me okay?」

If I don’t say it right here, it could create a misunderstanding. If they brought it to me as a gift when I’m in bed, it would be terrible.

My familiars on the branch and on the ground nodded their heads. It seems they’ve understood.

I let out a sigh of relief and returned my gaze to the pond.

***

A pond in the garden forest. A herd of Heavy Lancer are gathering at the edge of the pond.

What these large magical beasts are staring at is a single turtle swimming through the pond. To be more precise, it is a group of about ten of them riding on the turtle’s back.

『Muu…』

A young male on the shore let out a voice nervously.

It was because a few of its comrades were staggering on top of the turtle’s back .

Fortunately, they were able to regain their composure and hold on until the turtle came ashore. They waited for the turtle to come to a complete stop, and then headed off to land with their chief in the lead.

One of the Heavy Lancers who let out a nervous voice earlier watched them with mixed feelings.

(I’m unexpectedly bad at this)

This Heavy Lancer was the one who had just fallen from the turtle’s shell.

As a strong warrior, he was at the top of the herd and had been selected for a major role. However, he could not live up to the expectations of the chief who chose him and slipped on his hoof and fell into the water in disgrace.

(I was supposed to stand in that place too)

At the end of its gaze were the Heavy Lancers waving their horns proudly, and the young females rushing towards them.

『Going back and forth through the lake riding the turtle, who’s a great spirit beast』

Having successfully accomplished this feat, it is no wonder that the opposite sex is attracted to them.

The male immediately bites the female’s neck sweetly and presses her from behind. He won’t be kicked in that position.

I missed my chance to be a father.

『Don’t mind it』

When he was down and gritting his teeth, he heard the voice of the chief.

When he looked up, he saw a Heavy Lancer, two sizes larger than the others, looking at him.

The chief used his long horns to push the young male’s horns to the side as he continued. He said that the turtle, the great spirit beast, is thankful of him because now he knows where he should be careful.

(However…)

He was the only one who fell, it’s a fact that cannot be changed. This shows that he’s inferior to the others.

And the others in the herd must have seen him fall earlier.

(Just why can’t I hold on)

He remembers the feel of his hoof sliding on the shell and sighed through his nose. He has only one wish, which is to rewind time and start over.

(Someday, I should give him some kind of opportunity to redeem himself)

The chief thought as he watched the young warrior in silence.

***

A little to the east of Tauro’s home, stood the merchant guild that faces the town square.

A simple but expensive looking golem carriage has just arrived at its back entrance. A small, elderly man resembling a goblin appears from inside and enters the building.

「Thank you for your hard work sir. How did the meeting go?」

Waiting for the small old man in his office on the third floor was the vice guild master who looked like Santa Claus.

The guild master hung his cape and hat on a pole hanger and rotated his neck and shoulders as if to relieve his stiffness.

「Maybe because the number of Knights in the knight order increased, some of them started to become hardheaded」

He sat down in the office chair which was too big for him, and turned his face at Santa Claus who was sitting on the sofa.

「There was also the report that the Rose Knights had left Landbarn, and some of them clenched their fists and made bold speeches like 『let’s take control of the Great Pit』 or 『let’s take back Landbarn』」

Seeing him shrugging his shoulders, the small old man doesn’t seem to be in agreement with them.

The vice guild leader opens his mouth while stroking his long, proud beard.

「And how did the prime minister respond?」

The guild master’s answer was simple.

「He won’t move」

According to the explanation that follows, the situation is different from before.

The B-class Knights have been repaired and built, and the Empire also exported their mineral resources sparingly. As a result, the value of the Great Pit has dropped significantly.

The Kingdom wants it as it’s a good mine, but not to the point of forcing their ways to get it.

「The Prime Minister said, 『With this, we finally have enough strength to withstand whatever attack that might comes』. So I don’t think he’s even thinking about attacking Landbarn」

“Besides”, he continued.

「Although it is said that we have replenished our forces, it’s only the B-class Knights. We’ve heard that the A-class Knights are also ready, but it should take some time before they finish building the auxiliary magic circles」

After he finished speaking, the guild master stroked his chin and frowned. It was as if he was about to say something that he was reluctant to say.

「The quality of the pilots also have been in decline」

“Is that so?”, with such an expression on his face, Santa Claus continued.

「The former high-ranked pilot, the 『True pilot』 huh. His personality and selfish ideals aside, he wasn’t an unskilled pilot」

In fact, compared to the current pilots, the former ones are probably of a higher standard.

They weren’t fond of fighting with magic beasts, but when the enemy was the Imperial Knights, it was a different story. They would have gone into battle in earnest.

「Isn’t money also one of the reasons why he can’t make a move? Defending aside, it will cost a lot of money to launch an attack」

Santa Claus added, and the guild master shook his head.

「There will be no movement for a while. The current Prime Minister is like a stingy wife」

Santa Claus smiled back at the guild master, who smirked at him, because he knew what he was going to say.

「A husband who reaches out his hand and asks you to give him money because he sees an opportunity. And the wife would refuse it all with a slap」

The small old man who looks like a goblin laughs. But he quickly changes his expression and opens his mouth again.

「By the way, we at the merchant guild have been entrusted with another matter」

Santa Claus raises one eyebrow and urges him to continue. The expression on his face is one of concern.