Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Discipline the Naughty Elf
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I'm thrilled.
I made a contract with a divine beast.
This is the taste of summoning magic!
A rare summon popped up, and my brain feels like it's melting from dopamine.
I immediately snapped a photo of the divine beast and posted it to the gallery.
I'd contracted with a divine beast that even the sages barely knew about. No way was I letting that slide without sharing.
They probably couldn't believe it just from the photo.
No helping it then. Time to submit some evidence.
I called out to Bearmeal, who was still glaring down at me like he wasn't thrilled.
"Hey. Bearmeal."
[Bearmeal? Is that supposed to be me?]
"Got a problem? Wanna go home?"
[You... threatening me like that...]
"We both signed the contract willingly. No backing out now. Right?"
Bearmeal snorted, clearly hating the name, and whipped his head away.
"That bad, huh? It's pretty cute, though. If you hate Bearmeal, how about Bearpoof?"
[No thanks! I have a name: Gromur!]
"Oh? Gromur. Kinda hard to say."
[Then just call me Urr. Bearmeal? That's ridiculous. Sigh.]
I know my naming sense isn't the greatest.
But he's hating it so much, it kinda hurts.
"Got it. Urr. Can you roll over once right there?"
[...You ask for the weirdest things. There, I rolled. Happy?]
"Good job!"
Urr rolled over half-heartedly, like he wasn't pleased.
I quickly stroked his head.
I'd learned that summons like praise.
And man, his fur is so fluffy and soft.
[S-stop petting me.]
"Why? Don't like it?"
[Not exactly... but it feels weird, so stop!]
"Okay. Now stand on your hind legs."
[You really do ask for everything... Sigh.]
The four-meter polar bear standing on two legs was intimidating as hell.
One swipe from those front paws, and my upper body would be gone.
"Thanks."
[Satisfied now?]
"Yeah, that's plenty."
I posted a video of chatting with Urr and him performing to the gallery, and the reactions heated up even more.
No one had ever seen a divine beast acting this playful before, so the surprise turned into full-on adoration for Urr.
He's seriously reliable.
Just looking at him lifts my spirits.
[Why the dumb grin?]
"Nothing. It's cold, so let's head down."
[Down?]
"Yeah. I dug a burrow underground."
I led Urr into the burrow.
But his body was too big, and he got stuck in the entrance.
[W-what do we do? I'm stuck!]
"Hold on! Hey! Don't move! You'll collapse the tunnel!"
I widened the entrance with earth magic so Urr could fit.
Being huge comes with drawbacks.
[You made this burrow?]
"What do you think? Cozy, right?"
[...Not bad. Good for a nest.]
Urr looked around the burrow, settled in, and lay down.
I shared the trout I'd caught that morning with him.
[You're giving this to me?]
"Eat up. You're hungry, right? Buddies share food here. That's the rule."
[...Thanks.]
Urr glanced at me awkwardly, like he wasn't used to someone feeding him, then gulped down the trout in one bite.
It wasn't much, but at least his stomach was full for now.
I even filmed him eating and posted it.
Couldn't resist a video of the divine beast chowing down on fish.
Everyone was totally smitten with Urr's antics.
Even I felt proud of my divine beast.
But even after posting all this evidence, Pureblood Supremacist still wouldn't buy it.
Maybe she just didn't want to believe.
Couldn't accept a human like me taming a divine beast.
This one's got human distrust baked into her skull.
How do I prove it more?
My masters started piling on Pureblood Supremacist one by one.
People who usually ignored "crazy elves" stepped up the moment I was attacked.
Who knew my masters could be this reliable.
Public opinion turned against Pureblood Supremacist, and people started tearing into her one by one.
As more gallery users landed their jabs, she stopped responding entirely.
Had she rage-quit?
Or was she speechless from the mob?
It got so brutal I almost felt bad, then the mod showed up.
Oh yeah, there was that rule.
The attackers quieted down.
The mod flashed the red card.
A warning: one more step, and no more Sage Gallery for you.
The Magic Emperor wrapped things up quick, said he had a war to get back to, and left.
I felt drained too, said goodnight to my masters, and was about to log off.
Then a private message from Pureblood Supremacist popped up.
Wonder what nonsense this time.
What?
Not rage-quit, just mentally broken?
Her words reek of dampness. Is she crying?
We did roast her pretty hard as a group.
Maybe she read every single comment and snapped.
Maybe she's weaker than she seemed...
Suddenly I recalled what the mod said.
"A gathering of lonely crazies no one understands."
Sage Gallery might be Pureblood Supremacist's only escape.
Pureblood Supremacist always comments on my posts, sooner or later.
Abuse or not.
She's basically reading my entire survival log.
Pureblood Supremacist spilled her backstory.
Could be a weakness, but she told me anyway.
Elf Hunter too.
And other speciesists.
They've all been screwed over by the other side plenty.
PTSD kicks in, and boom, hate spews out.
This is a WWE pitch.
We curse each other out fair and square, no room for outsiders to butt in.
Conclusion's a bit weird?
But to me, this seemed best.
She vents on me.
I build rapport with Pureblood Supremacist.
Pureblood Supremacist sent an emoticon, clearly satisfied.
Successfully won over Sage Gallery's top holy mage.
A weird relationship formed.
But it worked out satisfyingly for both of us.
[Why the sudden smile?]
"Nothing. Just that your fur's so soft and warm."
I buried my face in Urr's fur.
Thrilled to turn an opportunistic relationship with Pureblood Supremacist into something close.
"By the way, Urr. Male or female?"
[What? You didn't even know my gender?]
"I'm not a bear. Can't tell just by looking."
[...Female. Sigh...]
Urr was female, huh.
No wonder the fur's so soft.
"Hey! Bingbing, get over here. Gonna shiver at the entrance forever?"
"Kwak..."
Bingbing was still pacing the burrow entrance, scared of Urr.
[Come on already.]
"Kwak?!"
"Hey! Don't scare the senior!"
[What? That little penguin's my senior...? Thought it was emergency rations...]
Urr stared at me in shock.
She'd sized up Bingbing as food from the start.
"We're all equals. Seniority by join date."
"Kwak..!"
[Hah... If only the air here wasn't so good... Sigh.]
But the air was too good to refuse.
Didn't wanna go home? Then follow our rules.
Ice Age has its laws.
"Bingbing, quit being scared and come down!"
"Kwa?!"
Bingbing, who'd refused out of fear of Urr, got dragged down forcibly by me.
When it's cold, share body heat.
Huddled together, the three of us were toasty warm.
The ultimate Ice Age warmth.