Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Taming a Pet's Gluttony Is Only Possible with Its Owner (3)
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Right, this was the book Dalia gave me.
The magical beast guidebook was covered in cute illustrations and descriptions for the sake of Dalia's mental health. It felt embarrassing, like getting caught reading a shojo manga on the sly.
I snatched the magical beast guidebook and chucked it at Dandel.
"Take it back to my room. The village chief isn't here yet? How long do you plan on making me wait?"
Pippin, suddenly deprived of the guidebook, looked up at me in dismay before scrambling to his feet and poking his head into the room I'd come from. Then he came rushing back, clinging to me excitedly.
"How was it? Delicious? Did you get that unique Veridis texture? It's nothing like regular beast meat, right?"
"It was revolting."
"And yet you ate it all!"
Pippin was practically snorting with excitement. Phoibe was snickering behind us, watching the show.
[That guy's probably never even tasted magical beast meat. Pippin's my little brother, but he's so naive. How's a porcelain doll like that supposed to fit all that food in his gut? He must've thrown it out.]
The beast meat had scraped death's door clean on my behalf, but I couldn't admit that, so it was frustrating.
Pippin stuck to me like glue, babbling on about Veridis this and magical beasts that.
If I had to describe Pippin, he was a dog. Whining and yipping at all hours, wagging not just his tail but his whole butt whenever he saw a person.
And he had zero tact to boot.
"You must be embarrassed, Master. It's okay. I eat a lot too."
"I'm not embarrassed about that sort of thing."
"Veridis meat is tough, but if you beat it up good, it gets tender. The leg meat you vaporized with your glare was chewy and stringy. The rib meat's the real delicacy. That's what I gave you because it's the best part. Aim for the ribs next time, Master."
"No one catches meat with their eyes."
"You're right here!"
"Pippin, please, just shut up."
Hearts sparkled and multiplied above Pippin's head again.
[♥♥♥♥]
It was getting ridiculous.
"You're so happy just because I said your name!"
I tried to flee from Pippin, but he trailed after me no matter where I went. It was ridiculous how the duke kept pacing around without a shred of dignity. I wanted to play it cool and quiet, but this persistent pest was tripping me up.
With his brute strength, no one could really rein him in. What a nightmare.
"The natural predator of Veridis is surprisingly a tiny magical beast called the thornbush field mouse with venomous fangs. Its teeth are sharp enough to pierce Veridis hide and chew through the flesh inside—vicious little things. The guidebook renamed it the petal mouse, but it has nothing to do with flowers. But anyway..."
His endless yammering about magical beasts was so loud it hurt my ears. Tell him to shut up, and he'd go quiet for three seconds before starting again. He couldn't control his excitement, lips twitching nonstop—what else could you call that but a beast?
"Dandel. Plug his mouth. Please. Bonus points if you make him disappear from my sight."
"Yes, sir!"
After that, Pippin dragged Dandel along behind him as he chased me. Dandel flapped like a sheet of paper, clinging to the hero and sniffling. Dandel, who'd spent his life scrubbing dishes, was no match for Pippin swinging a saw around and butchering beasts.
In the end, I had to endure Pippin's chatter in silence until the village chief arrived. It was a new form of torture.
"I'll add that noisy yap of yours to the list of crimes."
"Yes!"
"That wasn't a cue to reply..."
***
Thankfully, the village chief didn't keep me waiting long. He showed up laden with gifts, explaining them as enthusiastically as a game show host, but of course, nothing pleased me.
"The village women gathered to handcraft these baskets and ornaments. And this sturdy table, made from trees deep in the forest that absorbed pure energy..."
=================
Name: Teneri Keters
Personality: Stingy - Hard to raise affinity, but increases probability of acquiring money
Job: Village Chief
Traits: None
=================
A stingy personality. It suited him perfectly.
He was trying so hard to impress the suddenly appeared duke, but even that was pathetic. He'd no doubt profited big from illegal magical beast trading.
Yet the gifts he offered me were nothing but cheap grass weaves.
And he had a sleazy reason for not showing his real treasures.
Right now, the village chief and his cronies were in a spot where they needed to pin the magical beast hunting crimes on Pippin. 'We don't know anything about magical beasts, we don't have any—we swear it's all Pippin's doing.' That's the angle. They didn't want me spotting any beast-related goods.
Our goals aligned in wanting to punish Pippin, but for some reason, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Was it because the whole village was ganging up to torment one beast-obsessed kid? Laughable.
"Forget it. Take it all back. I don't need it."
"W-What? B-But! If you just see our sincerity..."
"Not a single one catches my eye. If they're so precious, divvy them up among yourselves."
I crooked a finger at Pippin, who was still fidgeting beside me.
"What I want is Pippin—"
"Me? You need me? So you do have a big interest in magical beasts after all, Master! Which one I told you about today caught your fancy? My favorite is actually the dragonkin..."
"You—shut your mouth for a bit. Got it? Keep it shut until I tell you to speak. Or I'll kill you right now. Please, just shut up."
"......"
"Good. And don't respond. Just stay quiet."
I grabbed Pippin by the scruff and dragged him to kneel in front of me. I regained control of the mood and continued.
"What I want is solely Pippin's punishment. For luring beasts into civilian homes, hunting them without permission, trading their byproducts on a whim, and finally, hounding me all day like a pest."
Pippin looked up at me innocently aggrieved. His lips twitched like he might speak, so I glared daggers. He yelped and bowed his head again.
"Pippin committed all those crimes...?"
The village chief perked up, gauging my reaction. He wasn't great at masking his expressions.
"Oh dear, Your Grace must be under a misunderstanding. Pippin may be a troublesome stray taken in by Kaku after losing his parents—a real handful—but he's still one of our villagers. A burden we must shoulder. Charging beasts recklessly deserves divine punishment, but please show mercy. We'll discipline and teach him within the village."
He spoke in soft, protective tones, but the content was viciously underhanded. Bringing up the lack of parents, no less.
It made sense why Pippin had blindly pledged loyalty to the crown prince. If everyone around him was this spineless, he'd have fallen for anyone.
"If you leave him to us, he'll never cross Your Grace's path again."
"Hmm, is that so?"
That sounded like tossing Pippin as feed for the garden maws.
I now knew garden maws grew by eating magical beasts.
Mine would be the same.
Feeding them people still felt iffy, but beasts? I wanted to feed them more.
"Before punishment, we need to ensure this never happens again. Where do the beasts come from?"
"Th-That is..."
The village chief trailed off, averting his eyes. He clearly didn't want to be caught.
"The chief of a village doesn't know where the monsters threatening his people come from? Are you joking? Or is there something you want to hide?"
"No! It's not like that!"
He hesitated, then vaguely replied that beasts sometimes came down from the mountainside.
"Probably... somehow crossing over from the hermit's territory. I'm not entirely sure..."
Whether that was true was obvious from Pippin. He fidgeted like a dog dying to pee, glancing between me and the chief nonstop.
I decided to give Pippin a shot.
"Pippin. Is the chief telling the truth? Speak."
Pippin unleashed a torrent of words like he'd been waiting.
"The chief's lying. More than a dozen types have come to our village. All driven from the hermit's land, sure, but their habitats are worlds apart. Veridis maybe, but that Zibulum last time? It never leaves its birthplace. No way it'd reach us unless someone summoned or dragged it. Not from the mountainside either. Sometimes from the peaks, sometimes the riverbanks, or crossing from even farther fields. Like someone deliberately changed their summon spots..."
The village chief bellowed over Pippin's words.
"You! Stirring up trouble to confuse His Grace! Stick to the facts! Where'd you make that up!"
His cronies murmured support from behind.
"He knows way too much detail. Must've summoned them himself."
Such one-dimensional taunts didn't faze Pippin, who was even simpler.
"Summon them and they come? How? Can I do it too?"
I shook my head with a troubled expression.
"With all this chatter, I can't tell truth from lies. No one should suffer injustice, so I'll check it out myself."
I'd find out who was luring the beasts, how, and whether the garden maws ate them alive or dead.
"But going alone might be dangerous. That's the worry."
The village chief bowed obsequiously.
"I'll send villagers to search the spots Pippin mentioned."
"No need. I hear there's a mercenary band nearby. They hunt beasts too, right? Ah, anyone suitable to guide me there?"
My gaze shifted to Kaku.
"Anyone come to mind?"
"......"
"A suitable guide. Someone connected to the mercenaries."
"......"
"Time to raise hands."
"......"
Kaku met my eyes, played dumb, then cautiously raised his hand.
"I'll... guide you..."
Meanwhile, Pippin tugged lightly at my clothes. Looking up at me like a country mutt, he hesitated.
"Can I come too?"
"......"
"I wanna see the beasts... If we catch any, I'll give 'em to you, Master. I can really do it."
His eyes brimmed with eager hope.
"...Do what you want."
It wasn't pity. I just allowed it because it was funny.
Here's hoping a beast chomps him good this time.