Chapter 28
Chapter 28
What Are You Doing If You’re Not Having Fun
For the next few days after that, we kept hunting monsters hard.
It wasn’t only for my growth, but honestly, it wasn’t like I was hunting them purely for that reason either.
What else would an adventurer do if not hunt monsters?
If you don’t, you’re just a rich unemployed guy.
Yuna seemed oddly pleased by that statement, saying it had a nice ring to it, but in the end she got dragged out by Melraim anyway.
After I cut down a monster, Yuna came over to me.
“Are you pushing yourself too hard?”
“I’m fine. You guys are here anyway.”
To be honest, my current hunting setup was almost cheating.
As long as Melraim, Tanya, Yuna, and Powo were with me, there was no way I would end up in danger.
It was far safer than some noble kid playing at being an adventurer.
Sometimes, actually quite often, I was the one finishing off monsters already restrained by Yuna’s skeletons.
And of course, the ones Melraim knocked unconscious were the same.
At this point it didn’t even feel like hunting anymore. It felt like butchering.
I asked if this even helped my growth, and Melraim answered as if it was obvious that it didn’t matter.
Well, nobles gaining strength by executing criminals wasn’t all that different from this anyway.
But still.
“Piercing Slash!”
I still wanted to do as much as I could.
The kobold whose neck I had just cut down collapsed.
Seeing it like this, I really had gotten stronger.
There was no way I could have beaten monsters like this before meeting my current companions.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever truly tried my best to get stronger back then.
I just lazed around all that time, then got frustrated when I realized I couldn’t become strong?
What an absurdly petty and foolish guy.
Yuna walked slowly toward me after I ran off toward another monster.
“Do you really have to shout it out?”
“…Isn’t it cool?”
That’s how it was in the fairy tales I read when I was young.
Of course, the techniques there were way more flashy and powerful.
“I don’t know… Summon Skeleton!”
Yuna struck an exaggerated pose and summoned a skeleton.
Seeing that, Melraim casually stepped forward and used a skill into the air.
“Shield Charge!”
She simply pushed forward with her shield after gathering strength, but a visible shockwave spread through the air.
Come to think of it, this was my first time seeing Melraim use a Guardian skill.
But more importantly… shouting skill names really wasn’t that cool.
I decided I wouldn’t do it anymore.
At that moment, a kobold, drenched in blood with its tendons torn, dropped right in front of me.
Of course, Tanya had brought it over.
The monsters Tanya handed me always came in especially gruesome condition.
Of course, they were for my growth, but also for Tanya’s “snacks.”
In other words, she was giving up her own enjoyment just to help me.
Hmm… I was grateful, but still…
It reminded me of a story about a crow repaying kindness by dropping a torn snake at someone’s door.
No, compared to the monsters Tanya brings, even a torn snake would look like a work of art.
I finished off the kobold’s suffering.
“Oh right, Powo.”
“What is it, Lord Luca?”
“You said you were a knight, right?”
Powo nodded.
“I was a knight in life as well.”
“A knight uses riding skills, right?”
“Yes. When mounted, it benefits both me and the mount.”
Yuna’s eyes lit up immediately.
“You can ride horses?!”
“Yes…”
Why was she acting like that was surprising?
That was like asking if an archer could shoot a bow.
But Yuna was clearly excited.
“Let’s buy a horse later! You can teach me how to ride!”
“Yes. However, that will be difficult for now.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Fitz might get eaten.”
Yuna freaked out instantly.
“Horses are herbivores, aren’t they?”
“Sometimes if a small animal approaches, they may bite or chew it. If Fitz grows a bit, it might be fine, but for now it is… problematic.”
Yuna waved her hands as if she had heard something horrifying.
But I also wanted to learn how to ride a horse.
At that moment, Melraim pointed in one direction.
“Two more over there. I can hear them.”
I couldn’t hear anything.
Yuna seemed the same, because she asked Melraim.
“Melraim, you’re really good at hearing things. Is that a Guardian skill?”
Melraim shook her head.
“It is a racial trait. My entire body is a sensory organ. Even my skin can hear.”
“A sensory organ… then can you taste things too?”
Yuna asked while touching Melraim’s arm with her finger.
Seeing that, Melraim suddenly hugged Yuna with a playful expression.
“It tastes salty.”
Yuna panicked and pulled away immediately.
I walked over to Melraim and asked quietly.
“Can you really taste things?”
Melraim whispered.
“Of course not.”
…
We returned to the city.
We were on our way back to the mansion when familiar faces approached us.
“Those are…”
Who should I even call them?
And why are all three together?
Mura, Fair, and Prelia were running toward us.
For some reason, Mura was riding on Fair’s back together with Prelia.
“Hey hey! New masters!”
Then the noble’s daughter, Prelia, waved her hand.
“Sisters! Uncle!”
Tch.
Wait, why are Mura and Prelia together?
Fair, carrying the two girls, approached us.
“It has been a while! Good to see you!”
“So what have you been doing?”
“Just taking a walk! We can’t leave the city, but we are allowed to go outside the castle area.”
Mura tapped Fair and asked.
“You know the masters?”
“Yes. They are my benefactors, very impressive adventurers.”
Powo bowed slightly toward Prelia.
“It has been a while, lady.”
“…Who are you?”
“Ah…”
Powo clearly knew Prelia, since they had traveled together after clearing the bandit hideout.
But Prelia had never seen him in his current appearance.
Powo gave up trying to explain.
It seemed he had been labeled as a “weird older lady” in her mind.
I asked Prelia.
“Why are you two together?”
“We’ve always been friends! Right?”
“Yes, my lady! I missed you!”
The two girls smiled brightly.
Well, at least they were happy.
“But do you know the masters?”
“Oh! Something fun happened while Mura was gone! And Fair was given to us by these sisters! I was so happy!”
“Wow!”
It wasn’t really something that fun, and when we received Fair, she actually cried.
And somehow, I was completely left out of the conversation now.
“Oh right, my lady! We have a dog at our house!”
“Really?! What does it look like?”
Prelia loved animals.
It made sense since she was training to be a beast tamer.
“It’s black… and this small!”
That’s definitely not a dog.
At that size, it was probably an insect.
“I want to see it!”
“No… well it’s our house but also not really…”
Prelia looked at me and puffed her lips.
“Uncle…”
“…Fine, go take a look.”
“Yay! Let’s go, Fair!”
“Where shall I go?”
Mura pointed.
“Over there!”
Fair immediately started running with the two girls on her back.
Melraim murmured while watching them disappear.
“So that is how it is.”
“What is?”
“Have you ever seen the one teaching Mura economics?”
“Of course.”
He even greeted me properly.
A young man who looked very disciplined. He came three times.
“He is the second assistant to the financial officer. The most likely candidate for the next financial officer.”
“So there’s a first assistant too?”
“He is too old.”
Ah…
But why would someone like that be working as a tutor in our house?
“Is the tuition fee…”
“Mura’s education is considered part of his duties, so no payment is taken. Even I was surprised.”
Wow… the count really likes us too much.
Not that it’s a bad thing.
“Even if it is goodwill toward us, it felt excessive… but it seems Prelia’s influence is involved. The count will likely grant any request from her now.”
So connections really are everything.
…
When we returned to the mansion, we expected to see Prelia and Mura playing with Fitz.
But instead, Prelia was hiding behind Fair, trembling in fear.
“Mu-Mura… that thing is dangerous, let’s put it down and come here…”
The “thing” she was referring to was Fitz in Mura’s arms.
When we arrived, Prelia abandoned Fair and ran toward us.
“Sis! That thing is dangerous!”
But Prelia’s danger sense was a bit questionable.
She had once been kidnapped, yet she had clung to Tanya, who was arguably the most dangerous person here.
Well… honestly, choosing anyone here didn’t seem like a safe option.
Prelia asked Tanya, who was holding her up.
“That’s a monster, right? It is, right?”
“But it’s a good kid. Isn’t it cute?”
“But I can’t see its name! Keeping monsters is illegal!”
You can’t see its name?
What does that mean?
Yuna asked quietly to Melraim.
“What does she mean she can’t see the name?”
“I am not certain, but perhaps to a beast tamer, the name… or species of a creature becomes visible. If it does not appear despite its form, she may be frightened.”
That made sense.
As expected, asking Melraim was the best option when unsure.
After answering Yuna, Melraim stepped closer to Prelia, who was still in Tanya’s arms.
“Prelia. You loved animals even before becoming a beast tamer. Why do you reject Fitz just because its name is not visible?”
“But… it’s still a monster at its core.”
Yuna and I tensed slightly, watching Melraim’s expression.
But the other monster in the room, Melraim, showed no reaction.
She just smiled gently.
“And even so, what changes?”
“But…”
“Turn off your skill and look at it again.”
Prelia slowly closed her eyes and opened them again.
“How is it? To me, I only see your friend and a small, cute living creature.”
Prelia looked up at Melraim.
After hesitating for a long moment, she finally nodded firmly.
“Yes!”
Melraim smiled.
But Prelia’s next words were harder to fully accept.
“You shouldn’t discriminate based on inner nature!”
Uh…
Then what are we supposed to judge by?
Even Yuna frowned in confusion.
Prelia had come to a rather strange conclusion.
I guess I should apologize to the count later…
Whatever. I give up.
Today, I’m going to relax too.