episode_0125

Yulias taught Shir something by dissecting Grutzlang’s nose. The cockatrice was mercilessly pecking away at Grootslang’s meat.

The rest sit around the bonfire and stare at the meat being grilled. This is because I haven’t eaten anything since I’ve been walking all day.

The meat had a faint odor similar to boar taint, but the pepper suppressed the odor to some extent, making it edible. Of course, Jules’ expression wasn’t that bright.

The smell was a smell, but it was because the armor was dented.

Dennis had similar eating habits as me, so he didn’t have any trouble eating.

After that, we stopped by Puri Village and stayed for a few days, and thanks to Dennis’ cockatrice, the village was turned upside down. From what I heard, it seems that cockatrices eat ramrats alive in one bite.

A rumor was spread that the parents, who had strong maternal instincts, would attack the Puri Village because they had brought their young bastard with them. Some even said that he should be killed to stop his crying, so Dennis had no choice but to camp outside.

Julias hid the ingot underground as soon as he came out of the Black Forest, so there was no controversy. Shir followed what Jules had done, digging into the wall, and even ripped open the wall of the next room, creating a big commotion.

I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if it wasn’t for me and Jules who were staying in the room next to us. The journey through the Black Forest was smooth.

“Good. You take half for yourself.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Julias created a mold and began melting down half of the ingot.

“You didn’t make a hole in the floor again, did you?”

“Oh my, is he?”

Julia gave me a sly look as if she was hurt and gave me a subtle look. what. Why are you looking at me like that?

‘Ah, now it’s time to pay the price.’

When I handed over the copper ring… orihalcon ring to Julia, her grinning face lit up.

“Thank you~ As long as you can get back safely, I will serve you very well.”

Jules tilts her head at Julias’ meaningful words.

“What is it? That.”

“It’s no big deal.”

After looking around roughly, Yulais smiled and put the ring tied around her finger and started twirling it around. Dennis glances at the ring, then looks at me with a puzzled look on his face.

“That’s Horus…!”

Jules’ expression frowns.

“I was wondering where I saw it, and it turned out that the Dragonia gave it to me about six months ago. It’s illegal so take it quickly.”

Jules waved his hands in disgust.

Following Dennis, even Shir looks at me with wide eyes and tilts his head. The eyes were demanding an explanation.

“I somehow got it. I was told to stop by later if I have nowhere else to go.”

Dennis nodded slightly and turned around.

Looks like he’s given up on the idea. It’s just that Shirman is obsessed and still has a face that says he doesn’t like it.

Anyway, the ingot is the problem.

No matter how close it is, it is definitely not close to what a person can lift.

“I’m sorry, Julia, but can you please work a little harder?”

“You want me to bring it to you?”

“Yes.”

Julia looked at me with dark eyes and began to smile softly.

“Well… I may never see my master’s face again, so shall I try my best for the last time?”

“Don’t call me strange. Look at people looking at you.”

Several Lamia, the surrounding Lexia, and the group, who had been fooled by Julia’s prank, had strange frowns on their faces. The group doesn’t have a problem with Julia’s sly personality, but the villagers…

“···Sihyun. What does that mean?”

Shir makes a straight face.

“Of course it’s a joke. Why are you so serious?”

Jules seems to be fed up with Julia.

“Oh, and please give me hardened ingots, not melted ingots.”

Because it might have been stolen.

Julia frowns.

“No, is he really? If you keep doing that, they won’t bring it to you?”

“Ah, don’t do that, let’s go together. It really could be the last time.”

Julias made a sulky face and turned his head away.

“Okay. Okay.”

“If you’ve decided, let’s go home quickly.”

Jules starts to take the lead with a chuckle.

I never told Jules about Julia’s situation. To go back to what Jules said before, it’s been 10 years since we’ve known Julias.

Aren’t you curious?

Julia used magic like she did when she came. The floor where the remaining ingots are dragged is dented and looks like slime from the passage of a snail.

It’s not that it’s dirty.

It just felt that way.

The ingot was buried underground again.

How long did it take to walk like that?

The Sirens who were flying in the sky were frightened by Julia and only flew far away. The return trip was smooth, and Shirr was chewing on the mushrooms from Root Village… the totem piece… as if it was delicious.

“Is it delicious? They say I’m just blind.”

“Yes! The scent is sweet! The mushroom itself has a light sweet taste.”

Do hosots have different taste buds than humans?

I couldn’t understand Shir’s continued praise, so I tilted my head.

Dennis gave me a look with his clumsy body language.

“Hosot is stricter about taste than other Ains. It’s the same with smell, but you can also feel subtle tastes that other subhumans can’t.”

“So you were born with the qualities of a gourmet?”

Dennis nodded slightly and smiled.

“Otherwise, would you be able to just eat that bland thing?”

···that’s right.

Those mushrooms are definitely bland, but they have the charm of keeping you eating them because you feel comfortable eating them. So, do I also have the qualities of a gourmet?

“You can’t go through the back entrance. If you try to cross with that ignorant ingot, the viaduct will break right away.”

There is no road down to the downstream entrance to the village.

This is definitely…

“Isn’t there only a cliff over there?”

“What can you do? I have to roll it from above.”

“Can I roll it? The ingot breaks…”

Jules glances at Julias and shakes his head.

“I’m not going to sell it anyway, I’m just going to melt it down and use it. First, I’ll go down to the village and go out to the downstream entrance and look around, then bring the ingot to the cliff with Julia.”

Jules trudges into town. Shir followed behind Jules and began to walk into the village.

─I’ve been there ──!!!

Shir’s voice echoes and resounds.

Now the only people left are me, Julia, and Dennis with the cockatrice.

Dennis, in particular, was uneasy.

You may be told that cockatrices cannot be brought in. If that were the case, they would have to be released, but who would be able to callously release an animal that has been lovingly raised for 6 months and depends on them?

“Come here.”

The three took the lead and headed towards the cliff.

It’s not that high, but it’s high enough that you wouldn’t be safe if you fell.

“Did you tell Jule in advance?”

“What?”

“Heading to Horus. It might not be possible to come back.”

“I didn’t do it.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to do it?”

“I wasn’t away for a day or two, it was time for me to die anyway. If I don’t find the answer in Horus, I plan to wander there and die.”

“······Yes.”

Do you feel like leaving a trace is saying goodbye?

He is like a cat. Dennis looked surprised, but didn’t really ask any questions about it.

We reached the cliff.

The slope is steep enough to be 70 degrees.

Jules was standing below.

“Roll it!”

Following Jules’ signal, Julia rolled the huge ingot down the cliff.

bang! bang! Kwakagagak—!

The uneven protruding stone shatters under the weight.

The ingot rolled several times and then stopped in place.

“Now turn around and go down.”

“Is that necessary?”

Julia smiled mischievously, picked me up, and started climbing the cliff like a snake jumping over a wall. Dennis… Dennis also climbed down the steep cliff without any problems.

······These people don’t have common sense.

“Dennis, even if you’re so nimble, how can Julias not slip?”

“Because friction is controlled by magic.”

Julia explained succinctly and started moving towards the village, dragging the ingot. Easier said than done.

“Please drop me off.”

If I go in like this, I’m sure I’ll end up looking strange and being teased for the rest of my life.

“I don’t like it?”

This person must have known that too, and is smiling mischievously.

“····It seemed like that.”

I don’t know.

Who on earth can break this person’s stubbornness? The cockatrice that could not follow started to caw and cry on the cliff, which attracted the attention of several hossots.

But before that, the eyes are directed in this direction, perhaps because they are more attracted to the immediately visible Julias and me.

The children and the village people, who had grown significantly even though less than a year had passed, were looking at us with bewildered eyes. Felik, whom I had seen for the first time in a long time, was looking at Julias with his eyes wide open, just like his hands were making something.

Schwein was equally surprised, but his gaze was directed at the cockatrice behind him.

“Why are you holding Sihyeon?”

“You should be able to watch your cute owner do hard work, right?”

“Is it like that usually?”

Ignoring Jules, Julias drags the ingot next to the iron ore box and only then puts me down.

“I hope to see you again someday.”

“Me too.”

Of course that wouldn’t be possible.

I’ll be back home soon. Julia patted my head, looked down at me, then immediately turned around and left the cave.

“Goodbye!”

Julia pretended not to have heard, just waved his hand, exchanged a few words with Dennis outside, and then dragged the cockatrice down the cliff and walked away.

*

“At that time! Suddenly, a Lindt call that seems to reach the sky approaches!”

Shir chats happily with his friends. It seems like there is no such thing as fatigue. I feel droopy. On the other hand, Heilang and Dennis were discussing the treatment of cockatrices.

“So, you want to bring that cockatrice into the village?”

“Yes.”

“Impossible. That’s a beast that never knows when it might explode.”

Dennis, who was immediately rejected, looks at the cockatrice with an embarrassed expression.

“If you see any signs of abnormality, I will calm you down immediately.”

“How?”

“Because I am a blood relative of the former Moon Priest, I can feel the emotions of that cockatrice. You can control your behavior──────.”

“Whether it is a human being or an animal, sometimes there are behaviors that appear from the unconscious. An action I don’t know why I did. Are you sure that cockatrice won’t do something like that?”

Has Heilang ever raised an animal?

It is similar to accidents that sometimes happen to pets. Cases of pet dog attacks on humans that occur without warning. There was no sign of water at all, or it suddenly started biting while licking.

Accidents like this are unexpectedly quite frequent.

“······No.”

“If you don’t guarantee that it’s safe, I can’t allow you to take it in either.”

The villagers must have felt that Shir’s words were a bluff, and everyone except the children is showing interest in the cockatrice. Anxiety, anticipation, curiosity, and discomfort all mixed together to criticize Cockatrice and Dennis.

“Won’t they attack us when they grow up?”

“Who provides the food?”

“Can I touch it?”

“The wolf is anxious.”

“What kind of fishy thing is this…!”

All kinds of words come out.

The cockatrice began to look around anxiously as people flocked to her.

Can not help it.

I squeezed through the crowd and grabbed Cockatrice’s hand.

“Let’s go.”

As I grabbed it and dragged it out of the crowd, the villagers kept their mouths shut and just stared at my back.

Caw!

The cockatrice cried at Dennis and started following me obediently, cackling like a chicken.

I guess I was quite anxious.

As I sat down and petted the cockatrice, it glanced at me and then sat down quietly.

Caw!

And then, like a crow, it caws at Dennis.

As if to welcome you. Dennis cut off everyone’s conversation with an embarrassed expression, came over to me, and stroked the cockatrice’s crest.

“Thank you. I was just feeling anxious.”

“It seemed like that.”

As I left the cockatrice to Dennis and left, Schwein was standing in front of Heilang.

If you think about it, Schwein couldn’t take his eyes off the cockatrice from the beginning.

“···Drekkar uses that instead of a horse to pull a carriage?”

what?

What are you talking about?

“Yes. To begin with, carnivores tend to drive out older children from their territory. Thanks to this, cockatrices live their whole lives as babies as long as there is something to receive their affection, and Rectalians ride around on cockatrices.”

“Why don’t they ride horses?”

“Same as Hosott. Due to their fierceness and odor, no horses are allowed to ride.”

Schwein glances toward the cockatrice.

“Of course, the one pulling the luggage is female. I’m not saying males are aggressive. This is because the males are so energetic that they often overturn the carriage. As the male cock grows older and comes into heat, nearby female cockatrices will flock to the male male’s voice. It may seem like they only eat their young here, but to Rectalians, they are considered life partners more important than home.”

“I guess that’s okay. How do you transport luggage?”

“Don’t they have hands? Cockatrices like to push things with those hands. Among them, I especially like power struggles. Thanks to this, if you provide early education, you can teach them to pull a cart.”

As Schwein continues to explain the benefits of cockatrices, Heilang extends his hand and cuts off Schwein.

“····What is the possibility of attacking us?”

“Cockatrices are rational and highly intelligent animals that live a social life. If you do not allow them to hunt and give them food in a timely manner, they will live as babies until they die. You can teach it to fight and use it as a horseman. However, if you teach them ‘hunting’ rather than fighting, their wild nature will come back to life. You just have to be careful about that.”

Dennis’ ears perk up in the distance.

Those eyes are focused on Schwein’s back.

“In other words, the problem is with females that are attracted?”

“Not really. Females do not follow subhumans, but they do follow males. If the male recognizes his opponent, he will not attack. A new hatchling from an egg considers whatever it first sees to be its parent. You can also raise a cockatrice that you can handle. However, this is only when the male is not hostile to the demi-human. If you do that, you won’t be able to get the eggs.”

Heilang’s eyes turn to the cockatrice, who is looking here from outside the cave and blinking. Heilang’s eyes, which had been looking at the cockatrice for such a long time, changed strangely.

“Interesting.”

Amber eyes turn to Dennis.

This town is overflowing with rotten meat.

“Let’s think about this again slowly.”