CH 255

“Heh, that’s quite a branch to grow. If you stay with Makina, you’ll be able to help me build a foothold.”

“♪”

After Tanji entered the cabin, Sephiro moved around a bit to show off his new look. As I was absentmindedly thinking that this was the boy from his dream, I saw Tanji coming out of the cabin.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I’m going to talk about Tame with this guy.”

“Meow!”

“!”

“Hmm? Is that a cat?”

Tanji was carrying a pure white cat, and just as I said this, a large shadow slithered out of the open doorway of the cabin.

“…… Is that a cat?”

“Well, you’d think so. And they don’t live anywhere near a human settlement, so you might’ve never seen one before. Oh, what, are you worried about your kid? He’ll be fine.”

“Fushiyuu”

The parent cat sniffed next to Tanji. It’s not in a threatening way, but its eyes seem to be trying to assess me.

“They’re called “Snow Tiger Sekko”, they’re rare monsters that live near the top of the “Northwoods”. I tamed this guy’s mother here and the father in the cabin and brought them here.”

“Hmmmm, it has a fine face. It looks very strong. But don’t they have to live in a cold place?”

“We use water magic to create snow and ice in the cabin. The idea was to attract attention with these unusual demons …… wait, what’s wrong?”

It’s a statement that shows how hard it is to maintain and gain popularity. Then, the Mother Snow Tiger approached me, sniffed me, then–

“Fugyaa!?”

“W-What’s wrong!?”

She suddenly lowers her tail, lays down on the spot, and shows me her belly. This pose seems to be a strong sign of surrender for a cat I’ve never met before ……

“Don’t you think it looks frightened?”

“Yeah …… Did Lars’ smell freak you out? If you’re an adventurer, you may have to fight other monster, but this one is quite strong, you know?”

Scent …… Monster …… then I suddenly remembered and I said to Tanji.

“It might be the dragon in the house.

“What?”

“No, I have a dragon living in my house, and I’ve been with him for six years, so maybe it’s his scent on me?”

“No, no, no, dragon, you say. There’s no way such a rare monster can be in a noble’s house–“

“……”

“…… So there is one ……”

When I nodded slowly, Tanji put his hand on his forehead and groaned.

“What the hell is wrong with you …… How can you have a dragon is in your house …… It’s not like you tamed him, right ……?”

“He’s my friend. I’ve never even thought about taming him.”

“The natural way of saying this is very true …… But that would make training a lot easier.”

When Tanji stroked the belly of the mother snow tiger to reassure her, I tilted my head. 

“?”

“Oh. The first step in taming is to subdue or befriend them. If it’s something like a rabid deadly bear, you don’t kill it, you beat it up and let it know you’re superior. Or, if he’s a quiet one like this little snow tiger, you can feed him and play with him to gain his trust and then tame him. But those who can smell the scent of a strong man, like this one, will run away, or so it seems.”

I sniffed my sleeve, but all I could smell was detergent.

“But yesterday I was attacked by goblins.”

“Goblins and orcs don’t have sensitive noses. And it’s impossible to tame them, so it’s faster to kill them. Wild demons will attack if they’re excited, so we’re only talking about here. Be careful, okay?”

“I see.”

I stroked the mother snow tiger’s belly and she let out a tickling sound. It’s no different from a big cat.

“How do you tame them?”

“Well, you can feed her and play with her. I’ll leave him with you.”

“Meow.”

“Whoa …… you’re not scared, are you?”

“He’s been here since he was born, so he doesn’t have a sense of the wild. Maybe it’s because you’re just like me, a human. “

“So I’m supposed to get along with this mother and son?”

“Yeah. Anyway, we’ll play until noon today, feed them and then call it a day. I’ll tell you how to determine whether you can tame them or not in the lecture.”

After saying that, I went to the other cabin and started to take the monsters out of the cabin and encourage them to play in the sun and exercise.

But still, you know.

“I didn’t know you could tame a black viper …… I’ve never seen a rampaging wild boar as anything more than a food source. Oh, that thing looks strong.”

While playing with the little snow tiger and Sephiro, I glanced at the monster that appeared. The fact that he’s running this place all by himself seems like a lot of work, but the fact that he’s able to get those monsters to follow him makes me feel like Tanji is pretty awesome too.

Now, I have to play with Snow Tiger too, I thought and I reach out my hand–

“Nyan!”

“Ow, that hurts! You!”

“Nyahnnnn!”

“!”

“Sephiro, it’s all right. I’ll get him, so just watch me.”

“!!”

He was quiet when Tanji handed him to me, and I thought he had become attached to me right away, but he was faking it. No, the mother was fine, but as soon as Tanji’s eyes left him, the child went berserk and scratched my hand as if to provoke me.

Thinking that I was being attacked, I gently stopped Sephiro from waving his branch with the flower on his head turning red, and followed the little snow tiger who was looking at me from a little distance.

“Then, let’s play tag. Let’s go!”

“Nya nya!”

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

“–So, you failed in Gust of Reflexion, and Oriola territory?”

“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. It’s not like there are many of us in “The Gospel’s Descent”, so we can’t really recover. I’ve decided that Gust has cooled down enough to send another messenger, and Oriola should take some time off.”

–The dining hall of the Kingdom of Berias.

There, a dubious-looking king and Apollos, the head of the Gospel’s Descent, were sitting end-to-end at a table, eating.

“It’s been more than ten years since we’ve had a failure. What about Oufa and Luitzar?”

“The Oufa Kingdom has sent emissaries, but they haven’t made much progress. We’ve tried to use the ghost of the past to the Luitzar Kingdom to throw them into confusion, but that failed as well. Since then, there has been no room for error.”

“This is not the time to be talking about it. In order for me, Gilgarden, to rule the world, it is essential for me to acquire other countries. I thought he was a useful man when he acquired the neighboring country of Everlide, but if he continues to fail–“

King Gilgarden thrusts the knife in his hand and narrows his eyes. But Apollos doesn’t seem to mind, and says as he brings the meat to his mouth.

“Do you want me to disappear? It’s fine, but please understand that we will not tolerate it at that time, okay?”

“Mu ……”

Apollos smiles, and Retzel appears right next to Gilgarden with a smirk on his face, and Gilgarden clicks his tongue.

“Well, whatever. If you fail, it will only result in the capture of your members, and I will not be harmed. So, what about the other territories?”

“I think we’re going to get a good deal on Glasco territory. The wife of the lord there is actually a member of the Gospel’s Descent. If the eldest son inherits it, it will be as good as taken.”

“Hoh ……”

“Well, the second son is a bit of a nuisance, but I’m sure it will all be over soon.”

“We’ve had a string of failures, so hurry up. Why don’t you give that second son some support and get rid of him?”

Apollos thought about it for a moment, and then nodded slowly. 

“Then, let’s do it that way.”

“I’m counting on you. Hey, send a woman to my room. I want a good looking slave.”

Gilgarden finished his meal and left the dining room after saying just that. The remaining Apollos also finished his meal and went out into the hallway with Retzel, opening his mouth after a while.

“I’ll send someone else this time, so Retzel can wait.”

“I understand, Lord Founder. Nevertheless, what a ridiculous idea to think that you can have the whole world.”

“Don’t say that. We need people like that for our own purposes. Kuku, he often talks about world domination, butI’m sure it’s difficult for a single country to manage the world, but I wonder how that man plans to maintain it in his mind?”

“……”

“Oh, well. Then let’s send Albatross to Glasco territory. Make the arrangements.”

Retzel laughed silently and disappeared from the scene.

The disturbing situation is beginning!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“So, now we’re going to another territory.”

How will they do it will be the problem, isn’t it?

“I’m sure there’s an imperial command, but they can’t move just because of their complicated family situation, right?”