CH 302

“Nyaan♪”

The little snow tiger was wagging its tail, purring in my lap and rubbing its face against mine. When I stroked her, she purred happily, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort and picked her up. 

“…… Why are you here? And you’re not attached to me at all, though.”

“Nya!”

He licks my face as I say it, looking straight ahead. I thought I needed to talk to Tanji-san for now, so I called out to Leor-san.

“Sorry, Leor-san. This guy is a monster kept at the tamer facility, but somehow he seems to have escaped. I’ve agreed to take care of the costume, and I’ll get started on it, but I have to return this guy first.”

“I see. It’s a rare monster and I thought you were keeping it here. I think I’d like to share a meal with you today, so if it’s all right with you, can I wait for you here?”

Leor-san winked at me as he sipped his warm tea. He said he only had a request for me to do today and that he had plenty of time.

“Lars-niichan, the little bear looks lonely.”

“Oh, I see you’ve been startled by the little snow tiger smacking you on the nose.”

“Kuon ……”

“!”

Sephiro and Chelle are petting and comforting him, but he looks at me with sad eyes, so I leave the little snow tiger with Makina and carried the little bear.

“Come on, you’re a boy, get a grip.”

“Kuon♪”

I’m relieved to hear his sweet voice again. But that was short-lived.

“Oh, you can’t!”

“Kuon!? …… Kuon ……”

“Fusha!!”

I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he escapes from Makina’s hands, gets on my shoulder, and attacks him again with a cat punch and a flick on his nose. The little desperately tries to defend itself with its paws, but the tiger cub is still fast. I bent down and put them both on the ground.

“It can’t be helped, If I can’t carry either of them, I’ll just put them both down.”

“Nya!?”

“Kuon!?”

“Makina, go play with them.”

“All right. Do you mind, Chelle-chan?”

“Fath-san is here too, so I think it’ll be okay? In the meantime, I’ll go get Tanji-san.”

The two of them were disappointed, but just as I was about to head for the door, I heard a breathless voice.

“There’s no need …… f-for that …… hah …… hah …….”

“Oh, Tanji-san!? I was just about to go to your place. Didn’t this guy just break out!?”

When I pointed to the little snow tiger, belly out, being petted meekly by Makina, Tanji-san drank all my tea in one gulp and opened his mouth. It looks like he was in quite a hurry ……

“Puha ……! When I went to the square to feed them, he seemed to be lurking somewhere, and when I went back to the reception room, he was able to slip out quickly. I’ve never had this happen before, but he must have really liked you guys.”

“Grrr.”

“Oh, the mother’s here, too.”

At the same time, I noticed that there was a lot of noise near the front door. It seemed that the neighbors were checking out the garden.

“Did you see that big tiger go in there again?”

“Last time it was a big bear. I wonder if it’s their pet ……”

“There was also a wolf.”

“I wonder if it’s okay. The monsters are docile, but I’m worried they’ll run away ……”

…… Well, I can understand how the townspeople feel. I’m sure they’re scared of a house full of monsters …… I quickly hugged the Little Bear and little Snow Tiger and headed for the door.

“Kuon?”

“Nyaan?”

They looked at me as if to say, “What’s wrong?” but I didn’t mind it, and I called out to my neighbors. 

“I’m sorry for the noise. I recently got my certification as a tamer and I’ve tamed them. Look, aren’t they cute?”

“Oh, child monsters are so small! Can I pet it?”

“Yes.”

The two animals were very popular with the women, and after a few moments of petting, they left, satisfied …… As I had planned, kittens and puppies have a soothing effect on the mind. And lion cubs are cute, too.

“Phew …… Looks like I got things in control now. I think I’ll be okay for a while. Hmm? You want me to give him back?”

“Grrr.”

“Nyaan!?”

The parent snow tiger takes the child in its mouth and lays it on the ground, restraining it with its hands, and the little snow tiger starts to flail. Is it punishment for making her worry?

“Hmmm, what should I do …… Hey, Lars. I feel like he’s going to run away again, so can you keep him here? With this many of them around, one or two won’t make a difference, right?”

“What? Well, I’ve kept him before, and I have the cold shed in the house, so I don’t mind ……”

“Oh, yeah! Well, I’ll leave it to you then. I’ll pay you for the food, so please keep proper records. There won’t be anyone coming who wants to be a tamer, and they’ll probably want to stay with someone they like. Well, if anyone wants to be a tamer, just give them back to me. Oh, I’ve got some work to do, so I’ll come again to check on them!”

I watched Tanji-san hurriedly leave the garden and turned on my heel, wondering if it was okay. Then I realized something important.

“Ah!? The parent’s here too!?”

Yes, the mother snow tiger was still there. I tried to go after him, but–

“Grr.”

She went to the back of the yard–

“Kuah ……”

She lay down in a shady spot. It looks like …… she’s going to stay ……

“I guess you’ll be living with us again, “

“Nyaan♪”

When I saw the little tiger in Makina’s arms, the little bear took the opportunity to charge at me. I crouch down and pat him on the head and nose.

“Kuon”

“Yes, yes, cute, cute.”

“Kuon♪”

“Nya!?”

Frustrated by this, the little tiger pounced on me and rolled on the ground, squirming along with the little bear. He also tried to fight back, but he couldn’t keep up with the quickness of the fight, and he retreated to the back of the garden.

“Kuon ……”

“Fusha!”

“Oh, wait, you have to get along–“

“!!”

Chelle and Sephiro chased after the little snow tigers who were chasing him further. Makina stood beside me with a wry smile on her face.

“Ahaha, little bear is a little pitiful.”

“If he’s too persistent, I’ll have to scold the little snow tiger a little. I think it’s better not to spoil him here. Nevertheless, even though Makina is the only one he didn’t like, so why now?”

“Hmm, maybe it’s because he wants attention. Isn’t it tempting to chase after someone when they don’t want to be bothered with you? What can I say …… I think he’s like Luciela-san?”

I think I kind of understand what she’s talking about. I think it’s like a child playing tricks on the child he loves. The little bear is gentle, so I’m worried that he might take advantage of him.

Well, at any rate–

“…… I guess we’ll have to remodel the garden more …… Let’s think about the garden behind from Fath-san cabin ……”

The location of the stable, the drainage and water supply for the pond, a door that would allow the little bear and little snow tigers to move freely between the yard and the house, a reinforced fence …… that would prevent them from escaping, and so on.

The next day, I started to make modifications, and that’s when I had a flash of inspiration that could save the tamer facility.

It’s time ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

Please don’t look for me.

“She ran away because of the manuscripts urgency!?”