CH 37

Ain: “So cold….I’m gonna die…”

Royce: “Of course you are! What were you thinking, dammit?!”

[Unbeh……unbeh, beh-beh]

[peh, peh-peh-peh-peh]

I was soaked. Boss and Boris were wrapped in thick blankets, and the female Sheepoos were trying to keep us warm.

I was scolded by Royce, but the other Knights, Mages, Sailors, and finally Prince Eriol were all laughing merrily.

Eriol: “Lou Quain. Are you a Monster Tamer of some sort?” Ain: “MーMーMーMーMーMーMon, Monster Tー, Tamer?” Prince Eriol looked very amused by the situation and smiled cheerfully.

A Monster Tamer is a specific Job Class, right?

No, besides that, I haven’t even gotten an occupation decided. Yes, I’ve learned to use a sword, but I haven’t learned anything about how to handle and tame Monsters.

In this world, there is no compatibility with occupations. Depending on your strengths and weaknesses, you can do as you please to choose what job you want.

Ain: “BーBut Prince. Oー, OーOn that island, nー, no other Monsters, likedーed me.”

Eriol: “I see. Then you must be a Sheepoo Tamer.”

Ain: “(COUGH!) HーHey, dーdon’t make me laugh.”

Eriol: “AーHA HA HA! Well, that’s enough with the jokes. We were planning on using horses and carriages to travel but……..will this be okay?” Sheepoo are fast in general. I just have no idea about their stamina.

And besides that, the baby Boris and pregnant Sheena’s stamina will also be a lingering concern.

Eriol: “You were saying that one was carrying a child. So one of the Sheepoos are pregnant?” Ain: “Yes, Sheena is pregnant. Oh, how much longer till, thーthe baby is bーborn?”

[Beh～]

I look at Sia. She was helping keeping me, Boris, and occasionally Boss dry by wiping us down with a towel.

Sia: “Huh?” Ain: “Sheena’s pregnancy. HーHーHow much longer will it bーbーbe? CーCould you ask?” Sia: “Yea. Sheena―”

[Beh～]

Sia: “She say three more month”

That’s still a little ways ahead. But I can’t have her pushing herself.

Ain: “PーPーPrince Eriol. CーCーCould you, ready a carriage, large enough to cーcarry Boris and Sheena?”

Eriol: “It would be difficult to carry all 6, but I can at least prepare a carriage that can carry half. You can use the open seat to alternate Sheepoo to let one rest in turns.”

[Behー]

Sia: “Bossー says thankーyou”

Eriol: “You are very welcome. So Sia, it looks like you understand what the Sheepoo are saying?”

Sia nods in answer to the Prince’s question. I can see a hint of pride in her face as she did so.

Ain: “IーIs it a specialty of the Beast Race?” Eriol: “Hmmm…….Royce, have you ever heard rumors of the Beast Race Tribes understanding the Monsters’ language?”

Royce: “Huh? I’ve never heard of such a thing. They do have ears and tails similar to animals, but they can’t understand the animals’ words. Well, there do seem to have a closer bond with animals, but that’s all I’ve heard.”

So just because you’re a Beast Race doesn’t automatically help you understand a Monster’s language………huh.

Thanks to the female Sheepoo’s help, my body finally warmed up, and my chattering teeth finally stopped.

Ain: “So now, once we arrive at the port, will we immediately start travelling?”

Eriol: “No. First we must ready some horse carriages. And I must write a report to my father about the secret ties between the Duke and the Pirates. During that time, we must think of something so that the Adventurers there wouldn’t mistake the Sheepoos as enemies.”

Royce: “Horses have saddles. Why not put one on a Sheepoo?”

Ain: “Mr. Royce, you’re a Mage, correct? Why are your ideas so similar to a Knights’?” Royce: “Ha! That’sーー”

But the Knight Commander, Avenges, interrupted.

Avenges: “That’s because Royce’s dream was to become a Knight. But his Magic potential was far greater than his physical. That’s why.”

Royce: “That’s right! But don’t underestimate me, Sir Lou Quain. I still have a decent amount of physical strength.”

Avenges: “Was it 35?” Royce: “IーI recently went up to 36!”

He’s a Mage with a strength of 36…….it’s higher than me. Don’t tell me he beats his opponents down with his fists…..

Avenges: “But Royce. A saddle wouldn’t work for them.” Royce: “Why is that?” Avenges: “Do you really believe that you can put a saddle on something that fluffy and stabilize it?” Mr. Royce looked at Boss for quite a while and then hardened. He stretched out his hand to feel the fluffy wool.

Royce: “.......no, I don’t think so.”

Avenges: “I’m glad you agree. I like your way of thinking though. So what about this, Sir Lou Quain? Instead of a saddle, why not put an extravagant cloth over them?”

Ain: “An extravagant…….ohhhh, I see. That would be a great idea.”

Avenges: “We can secure it with a rope underneath and as long as it’s tightly knotted, it shouldn’t come off that easily.”

So we’ll be making those preparations as well at the Tronstad Kingdom’s Port City of Aurier.

We arrived at the port the day after a little after lunch.

I’m impressed with this military vessel. Rough seas? It actually took advantage of it to make us go faster. Well, it did rock the boat a lot though.

Eriol: “Lou Quain. Until the Sheepoo’s preparations are completed, I apologize, but please wait with them on thisー”

Ain: “Yes, I understand, Prince Eriol. Would it be okay if I sleep here on the ship until then?”

Eriol: “That is not an issue. Use the ship cabins as you like. Andーー”

Prince Eriol took out a cloth sack and handed it to me. By the sound of the coins jingling, I can tell that it’s full of money.

Ain: “Um…….”

Eriol: “This is a reward for recovering my precious cargo. Even though it was full of gold and silver, you forgot to bring it with you, right?” Ain: “Ohー......yes, I forgot……”

I had no need for money on the island, and during my time at the Marquis’ residence, I never handled money there either.

I thought I knew the value of money, but I’ve gotten way too used to living on a deserted island.

Well, it is a fair reward, so I received it gladly.

Ain: “Then let’s go look for a really fancy cloth for Boss and the rest of the Sheepoo.”

Sia: “YEAー!”

Eriol: “And on the way, you can also prepare yourself some new clothes.”

Ain: “Oh, um…….yes, we can do that too.” I glanced and saw that Prince Eriol was smiling but did so while holding his nose.

Wait……don’t tell me…..

Ain: “Um…..excuse me…….do we……smell?” The Prince only smiled back at me.

Sia and I look at one another. We sniff each other to confirm.

I can’t tell.

Sia: “........smell……a little…..?”

Ain: “What?! Really?!”

But we’ve been bathing! Well, we started bathing only recently.

But we didn’t have any soap, and we just soaked in the tub too.

We……..smell, huh…..