CH 258

“……”

“Meow”

“!”

“Hey, what’s up, Lars? You’re spacing out.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. What is it?”

“Look at your feet.”

“Woah!?”

Tanji said, and when I looked at my feet, I saw that Sephiro and the baby snow tiger were tightly clinging to each other, and the mother snow tiger was huddled around my legs in a circle.

“I feel like you’re so far up in the sky, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, I guess I’m just tired after everything that’s happened lately. I’m going to clean Deadly Bear’s cabin.”

“No, don’t push yourself today, and go home. You have a face that looks like you’re worried about something. You can’t train Taming like that.”

“…… I see, okay. I’m sorry, thank you.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but don’t worry too much about it, okay? It’s okay if you train after your tiredness is gone. The Little Snow Tiger is starting to trust you too. You’re almost ready for the next step.”

“So I’m not qualified yet.”

When I said it a little as a joke, Tanji slapped me on the back, laughed and said.

“Of course! You’re a good learner, but you’re still a beginner when it comes to monsters. You should be able to tell the condition of a monster just by patting it on the back.”

“That’s amazing, you can tell that much?”

“Yeah. If you treat it like a friend and stay with it all the time. Some people often misunderstand and treat them like a slave, but we disqualify them. I’ll know them when I see them, and I’ll engrave the tamer expiration on their guild card so they can’t escape.”

Tanji looked at me as he said this.

Hmmm, you’re right, there should be rules if you think of it as having a pet. You can hunt monsters, but you can’t do whatever you want with them because you have to tame them for your own reasons.

However, I feel that if we make the rules too rigid, then the number of people who want to be here will decrease …… Can’t we use this facility more effectively?

“Oops …… Stop, I’m thinking too much about something that’s not my business.”

“!”

“Nya.”

I put Sephiro and the little snow tiger in the cage, held them with both hands, and walked home. I usually come home after noon, so it’s rare for me to come home at this hour when it’s not even noon yet. But it’s not like I go there every day.

“I think I’ll make something for lunch. I need a distraction, after all.”

“!”

“Meow♪”

“You’re always so friendly when you’re eating ……”

The little snow tiger literally purred in the cage, and I smiled in astonishment. I’ve been calling him “Little Snow TIger” for a long time, but since Tanji won’t tell me his name, I just keep calling him that. He says he has a name, but there’s a reason he doesn’t tell me. The final exam, by the way, requires that you go to the forest and monster a real demon to qualify.

“Fuh ……”

“!”

I walked down the shopping street and let out a sigh, and Sephiro flicked a branch in his cage to get my attention.

“Don’t worry. Alright, let’s go shopping.”

…… Now, the reason I’m not so enthusiastic about this. It’s because of what Basleigh-sensei told us about Lux the other day. We’re not in the same class, but the class competition and the conversation at the graduation ceremony. In addition to the fact that he is the second son, he and Reiss had a lot of contact during their time at the academy, so I know his personality.

He seems to be a calm and selfish person, and when he thinks he is right, he goes ahead with it. However, he is flexible enough to think things through if the people around him stop him.

“He almost killed his mother, huh. My father told me that Lux and his mother-in-law didn’t get along well. I remember that his sister said that he’s the son of a concubine or something.”

I saw her at the end of the first year class competition, but we haven’t talked since then, so I don’t remember her name, but he definitely had an older sister. I have a feeling that if she was around, he wouldn’t have committed such a heinous act ……

What the hell happened to Lux?

Now that I’m out of the academy, I could say it has nothing to do with me, but I still think it’s shocking to hear that a friend of mine might be facing capital punishment, I thought as I bought the food.

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

“–And the pudding is also excellent. The chawanmushi variant was not bad at all too.”

“How nice, the boy you’re staying with is the son of the lord of Gust, isn’t he? Well, I heard that the second son is free. But more importantly, ask him to let me eat pudding.”

“I’ll ask if he can make Anna able to make it too! It’ll only take a second if I ask him.”

“No, I feel like it wouldn’t work if you asked for it.”

While Lars was shopping for food, Basleigh was at the castle, bragging to her colleagues about it.

“Have you taken over the minister’s job yet?”

“Yes, Kedi has finally been relieved of his duties and has vacated the office of Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.”

“I see. There aren’t many female ministers in the world, so I’m looking forward to working with you again.”

“It’s nothing compared to Anna’s wizardry, though.”

They were chatting in the rest area near the stairs. Then Anna brought up the subject as if she remembered.

“It’s a big deal, but it’s also a lot of work. That’s right, speaking of the second son, have you heard that they are sending an investigator to Glasco territory?”

“…… That’s a new one for me. Please elaborate.”

“You’re ears so large!? …… You’re still not taking me seriously. Well, whatever. The thing about the second son, Lux, who tried to kill his mother-in-law, I heard there’s something fishy about it.”

“False accusation, huh?”

“Well, that’s the thing–“

When Anna was about to open her mouth, a voice came from the side.

“Basleigh, and Anna, you’re here too. Just in time, His Majesty has gathered the ministers, saying that he has something to talk about. Please go to the conference room immediately.”

“? A meeting before lunch? That’s unusual.”

“I don’t know the details. Just get there. I’ve got other people to call, after all.”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming.”

“I don’t really understand, but we can’t ignore His Majesty’s call. Shall we go?”

“Yes, let’s. Maybe it’s about Glasco territory! There’s no way that’s it, Ahahahaha!”

Basleigh went to the conference room.

The book has been published, and there’s a new chapter!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Hyuu-hyuu, dondon pafupafu!”

Don’t say it with your mouth ……

“I did it because it’s something to celebrate, though!?”