CH 313.1

In the northwestern part of the Kingdom, there is a group of small countries known as the 『Northern Countries』.

「Still, this thing has really gotten bigger, huh.」

In the town of Black Locust country, one of the smallest countries, a thin old man murmurs.

He is the former master of a dojo of a certain school. Lightning, the hero of this country, is the heir to the dojo and son-in-law of his granddaughter.

Right now, he is looking up at a giant mushroom. It is a species called White Lady, and as its name suggests, it resembles a standing lady clad in a white one-piece dress.

Normally, they are only as big as a fist, but this one was as tall as a two-story house.

「It’s worth the same as a stack of gold coins, isn’t it? Well, if it’s this big, it’s going to be worth a lot.」

The former dojo master continued in astonishment. However, the residents of this country, including him, do not think of cutting down or scraping off the trees.

The only tourist attraction in Black Locust country is now under the control of the government.

「Umho」

A huge hunk of meat steps out from next to the skinny old man. It was the former dojo owner’s wife, who warned him in a gentle tone.

「It’s alright to approach it, but don’t touch it, okay? If you scratch it, the poisonous juice will seep out.」

The not-so-rich Black Locust country. The reason why no one is willing to exchange the White Lady for money is because of this old woman.

She was so fond of the white mushrooms that grew in her garden that she would not allow anyone to touch them.

「Mho」

The Great Madam rubs her round belly with her hand and looks at him. The skinny old man can’t help but chuckle at the sight of her.

「Did it move? Don’t you think it’s still too early for that?」

She’s been saying things like this since a couple of days after she had sex with the male elf. She probably understands that herself, but she just can’t wait.

「Half elf huh? I’m looking forward to it.」

While squinting his eyes, the husband pats his wife’s protruding belly. Her belly has always been extremely big, to begin with, so there is no way to tell if she is pregnant or not.

The elderly couple wanted a child despite the fact that the husband’s seed was expired. Probably because of the loneliness they felt in their daily life.

Their granddaughter and her husband, who had gone to the Kingdom, have already returned home. But due to serious family circumstances, they did not live together as before.

「What’s about the name? You can name them whatever you want.」

By the way, the baby seed is the spoils of war.

「What’s wrong?」

Suddenly, the Great Madam’s expression tightens and she turns her steely gaze to the onlookers right beside her.

The eyes of the former dojo master follow her gaze, and what they see is a sparse crowd of people. And he heard the buzz of the crowds in his ears.

A beast appears from the back of the crowd. It turned toward them on the street and walked towards them slowly on its four legs.

「Is that…. A pig?」

Finally, standing in front of them was a white pig as tall as a man.

What caught his attention were the burn marks on its body. They were all over his body and still fresh.

(No, that isn’t just a regular pig. This atmosphere around it… A spirit beast, huh.)

Half in relief and half wary, the former dojo master guessed while holding the Great Madam in check with one hand.

In this region, located on the outer edge of the Spirit Forest, spirit beasts are seen as objects of respect.

(But if it was the White Lady who summoned the spirit beast, it would be bad.)

A spirit beast of a certain size and clearly not anyone’s familiar. It visited the Black Locust country.

It was a joyous occasion, but that doesn’t concern his wife. If it touched her favorite mushroom, she would fight it, no matter what the opponent was.

(It’s just as I thought.)

A white mushroom with its umbrella spread out like a lady’s dress. After looking up at it, the spirit beast resembling a pig pointed its snout at us.

Looking into its eyes, the former dojo owner could not help but realize. He could see a strong will that this mushroom belonged to it.

The pig’s eyes were fixed on the Great Madam standing next to him, as if instinctively recognizing the enemy, creating a tense atmosphere like a staring contest.

「What is happening here?」

A small old man with a big belly and brow in the shape of a letter 八 appeared from behind the pig. He is followed by a middle-aged man with a less-than-dignified appearance who dressed more luxurious than the average person.

They are the minister and the king of this country. They must have heard the report of the appearance of the spirit beast and came rushing from the palace. They were out of breath as their shoulders moved up and down.

「I don’t know. But I think it was after this mushroom.」

Hearing the former dojo owner’s words, the country’s rulers look at the spirit beast that looks like a pig. Certainly, they could think of no other possible reason.

Then they saw the tension between one animal and the other person, and their expressions stiffened.

『Spirit Beast and the Demon of the North.』

Even though he was the king, his power could not be exerted over either of them. The minister looked at the former dojo owner with a glimmer of hope but sighed deeply when he saw him shake his head from side to side.

「Your Majesty, I’m afraid we have no choice but to leave it be.」

「…..It can’t be helped. Even if you explain the rules of the human world to a non-human, they will not understand you.」

The middle-aged man nods his head in resignation at the old man’s words. Although the Great Madam is a human, she must be considered as something beyond a human.

While people’s gazes are focused on them, one animal and one person close the distance without removing their gazes from each other.

「Fugiiiiiiii—!!」

「Ubhuoooooo—!!」

Suddenly, the beast and the demon roared and clashed head-on. The people around them had no idea why they were fighting.

But the sound was so powerful that the windows of the houses shook and the crowd clutched their ears and cowered.

「Wow, the Great Madam doesn’t lose to it.」

One of the onlookers surrounding the scene said.

A pig as big as a two-ton truck is being held up squarely in front.

「The ground is sinking.」

Someone else murmured.

The pig, now with its upper limbs off the ground and supporting itself with only its hind limbs, and the Great Madam, who was originally bipedal, were both sinking under the weight. Both of their feet were sinking under the weight and the pressure of their feet.

「Bugiii—!!」

An important factor in towing power is mass. It is no wonder that the spirit beast pig, with a weight not more than a few times greater than that of the Great Madam, overwhelmed her.

The back of the lumpy old woman pushed into the storage shed behind her and smashed it. However, she is also called a 『Demon』 because she transcended the common sense of this world. Instead of giving in, she pushes back, ignoring the laws of physics.

「Umhoaa—!」

Pulling back her jaw, which was buried in the flesh, the Great Madam unleashed a powerful headbutt.

The pig fights back, and the Great Madam fights back harder. The sound of ceramic smashing each other echoed over and over again, causing the onlookers to distort their faces.

A person and a pig both have their foreheads smashed and their faces stained with blood. However, the fighting spirit of both sides does not fade.

The two brains continue to be shaken by the impact. It was the pig that was the first to lose consciousness.

「Unmhoooo—!」

With a defensive body movement of Yokozuna (sumo wrestler), the Great Madam throws several tons of meat off the ground. The house where the spirit pig struck the house was crushed, and the screams of the house owner echoed.

And thus the victor was decided.

「Mhou, Mhou.」

After the battle, while disinfecting and bandaging his beloved wife’s forehead, the Great Madam called out to her husband about something.

He turned his head to the side and saw that the pig was about to raise itself up. It must have regained consciousness.

It came closer to them, but it clearly had no hostile intentions. Then it bowed its head as if it were groveling right in front of us.

「What on earth…」

Puzzled, his wife, a hunk of meat, smiled and called out to him. This is apparently a sign of submission.

Perhaps they were fighting under the rule that 『The loser obeys the winner』.

「But, why me?」

What he didn’t understand was that it was to him, not to his wife. As he tilted his head wondering about this, his wife came up next to him and pressed her body against him.

「Unmho, Uunmhoo」

The former dojo owner finally understood.

The destination that the white pig follows is his wife. And his wife’s Darling, or owner, is himself. So it probably means 『The master of the master』.

Looking at the person and the pig alternately, the skinny old man shrugs his shoulders and sighed.

「Certainly, my wife can’t become the master of a spirit beast.」

A husband and wife should be able to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Being the master of a spirit beast is a position that is beyond the capacity of a human, but it can’t be helped.

The former dojo owner nodded to the white pig and agreed.

「So, what is your purpose for coming here? I won’t allow it if you want to harm the mushroom.」

When he asked a question for the time being, the white pig looked at him with an upturned eye.

(Oya?)

The old man was a little puzzled by the strange feeling. Somehow, he felt he could tell what the white pig was thinking.

It had become his familiar, but there was no way he would’ve known that.

「You want to live by the mushroom and protect it?」

He and the pig looked up at the mushroom, which was as big as a house.

This mushroom must be a precious thing that grows in the Spirit Forest. It must be so precious that even a mid-level spirit beast would leave the forest to come and look at it.

「Alright, I’ll leave guarding the mushroom to you. From today on, you can live here.」

The white pig expresses an atmosphere of joy and relief at the words of the skinny old man. Then suddenly, a voice arrives from the heavens.

『We have verified that the target tree meets the specified conditions. We have verified that the applicant possesses the necessary qualifications for the application.』

Surprised, the former dojo owner looked around. However, the king, ministers, and onlookers have not moved.

From their reactions, it seems that only he, his wife, and the pig in front of him can hear it.

『Please designate an administrator.』

The former dojo master frowned as he heard the words that followed.

A spirit beast appeared, his wife defeated it, and he became the master. That alone was too much for him to comprehend, and now there was a mysterious voice from the heavens.

He was able to keep his composure because his senses had become half numb.

「This pig please.」

That’s why the answer also feels halfhearted.

He knew that the white pig strongly wished for it, so he simply said it if that was the case.

『The subject will be registered as the one responsible for the management. The vice-administrator…. is no longer required.』

Although he did not understand what that meant, the former dojo owner kept listening to the heavenly voice.

『The title 『Guardian of the Child』 has been granted to the familiar.』

The pig sits on the ground on his butt with a mysterious look on his face, and the Great Madam looks up at the sky with her mouth open.

The heavenly voices continue.

『All permit requirements have been met. Issuing permit…… A permit is issued. Processing finished.』

The voice ends there, and there is no indication that it will continue.

Looking around, the owner of the former dojo owner saw the king and the minister, who looked at him with a puzzled expression but did not interject, and the pig, whose eyes somehow looked moistened.

(He looks so happy.)

The former dojo owner still has no idea what is going on.

But this white pig is a spirit beast. And after a fair fight, it’s the one who has surrendered. He thought it was okay to trust it.

(I guess I’ll take my time later to sort things out and get my thoughts together.)

For now, let’s just tell them what has just happened, as much as I can understand. With this in mind, the former dojo owner went to the king and the minister.

No one present here is aware of what is going on. But today, a 『World Tree based on a mushroom』 and a 『Pig-like Guardian Spirit Beast』 were born in the Black Locust country.

Incidentally, it was only a few days later that the news that 『the elves’ village had fallen and the world tree was burned』 arrived.