Chapter 60: Setting Off
“You, are you trying to kill me, someone summoned by God-sama!”
“Oi oi, promoted from an old man to God-sama, huh? That old man, he doesn’t care who he summons. He’d casually summon guys who were just fighting, saying things like their Fighting Spirit was overflowing. I was just a leftover, completely dumped on the Tamer God. Even if someone like you dies, he wouldn’t even bat an eye and just summon the next guy.”
To the guy who had a Short Spear sticking out of his shoulder, was grabbed by me, and couldn’t escape via teleportation, I thrust my Short Sword and gouged out his heart.
It seemed few of those who launched the encircling attack managed to escape, so cleaning up was a pain.
Hoo-chan and the others had been pierced by Stone Lances and were dead, so they joined the contents of my Magic Bag.
The guys who couldn’t escape due to leg injuries begged for their lives, but I slit all their throats, put them in the Magic Bag, and they became Beast food.
It’s annoying that the Earl got what he wanted without paying a request fee, but I managed to snag a Magic Bag and plenty of booze, so I’ll call it even.
I had gone to Osius Village for about 10 days to replenish my Forest Wolves, but I returned to Zandra without meeting Fran and the others.
Around the Honeybee nest, flowers were in full bloom, and the Honeys were buzzing around actively, seeking spring Nectar.
I plan to get Nectar after things settle down, so I’m spending my time leisurely.
The Honey I received last year has only decreased by about half a pot, so I’ve bought two empty large pots to secure a portion to give to Milene-sama.
Additionally, I got one shallow large pot; I plan to attach tree branches to it to make it easier for the Honeys to land and drop their flower Nectar.
While waiting, I trained the new Hoo-chans and also worked on coordinating with Mii-chan.
During the training, an idea struck me, and I had Mii-chan try to see if she could shrink and return to her original size on her own. As a result, I found out she could do it freely without my instructions.
However, it’s unknown whether a Tamed Beast tamed by a regular Tamer can do that.
As a result of the training, we caught a lot of Horn Boars, Elks, and the like, so we won’t have to worry about their food for a while.
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I asked Honey Mama to share some Honey with me, just like last year, and including the previous batch, three large pots are now packed tightly with Nectar-filled combs.
I managed to harvest one and a half large pots of cleanly extracted Honey, and one and a half large plum wine-sized jars of flower Nectar.
With this much, I should be able to work moderately around town and then live a leisurely life.
Without stopping by Zandra, I headed for Emden, walking leisurely along the highway, and arrived a little past noon on the third day.
There was a bit of trouble entering the town, but since my Guild Card stated I had a Fang Cat and two Forest Wolves, I managed to get through.
Since they’re wearing Tamed medals, I can’t just tell them to let me pass silently, which is a pain.
I’ve told the two Hoo-chans that they don’t need to shrink unless instructed, so they’re waiting by the entrance of the Adventurers Guild.
With Mii-chan on my shoulder, I told the purchasing agent I was going to the Dismantling Area and was allowed through.
I had haphazardly disposed of a large number of corpses, but since there were so many, I can finally dispose of the Beasts.
I told them I had a slightly larger number this time and had them designate a spacious area.
I lined up over a dozen Elks, Forest Wolves, Carrions, Buffalos, and others, and requested an appraisal.
“Don’t you have any Red Chickens or Chiki-Chiki Birds?”
“I have a few, but they’re for my own provisions, so I’m not selling them. Isn’t Linna of the Glacial Shield hunting them?”
“Oh, she brings them in sometimes. She seems happy to have tamed a Fang Cat too. She might bring some in around today.”
I told them I’d be in the cafeteria and left my Guild Card.
As I was drinking ale and nibbling on snacks, the place was buzzing with talk about the Hoo-chans outside.
I thought, ‘Don’t drink in broad daylight, go do some work,’ but other people are other people, and I’m me, so I feigned ignorance.
I received the appraisal form and told the settlement counter I’d deposit everything.
When I took the two Hoo-chans to the market, it caused a huge commotion, and I got scolded by the Guards.
Forest Wolves are intimidating and large, so they’re probably scary, but those guys are unreasonable even though they’re wearing Tamed medals.
However, since I’ll be walking around with the Hoo-chans in the future, I need people to get used to them even if they complain wherever we go.
When I went to the Adventurers Guild again at dusk, the members of Glacial Shield were just heading to the cafeteria.
“Shinya, it’s been a while.”
“How’s Fanna?”
“She’s a very good girl. Her skills at hunting large prey have improved considerably, and she hunts birds well for us too.”
“Yeah, thanks to her, we’re saving up her earnings and plan to buy a Magic Pouch with a larger capacity.”
“And hunting has become much easier too.”
“By the way, did you bring the Hoo-chans into town?”
“Yeah, I plan to earn leisurely from now on, and I have business in the Royal Capital, so I intend to get them used to being in town.”
“The Royal Capital? What business do you have in a place like that?”
“Milene-sama of the Moran Trading Company in Holm has gone to the Royal Capital, so it’s for business with her.”
“Shinya, are you involved in some kind of trade?”
“I have an agreement to sell some unusual harvested goods. More importantly, I want to check on Fanna’s progress, so would it be alright if I accompany you tomorrow?”
I told them I’d wait outside the south gate early in the morning and left the Guild, but a crowd had gathered around the Hoo-chans, and they looked troubled.
Perhaps a docile Forest Wolf is rare, or maybe some guy, thinking there was no danger now, got carried away and was pulling its tail, so I kicked his ass.
“What the hell are you doing!”
“That’s my line. What are you doing to my Tamed Beast? If you go too far and get bitten, I won’t hear any complaints.”
“You seem cocky just because you tamed a wolf, but don’t underestimate…”
It was troublesome, so I hit him with my killing intent, and he collapsed to his knees, trembling.
“Hoo-chans, let’s go.”
When I called out to them, thanks to our practice, they stood up smoothly and looked down on the man who had collapsed.
《Show your fangs a little and growl at him.》
As they looked down at the man, bared their fangs, and let out a growl, the surrounding people scattered and fled, but the man who had lost strength in his legs foamed at the mouth and fainted.
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“Good morning. It’s become quite a commotion.”
“What has?”
“There was a guy making a fuss, saying your Tamed Beast bared its fangs.”
“Mind you, many people saw him messing with your Forest Wolf, so on the contrary, he got chewed out by the Guild Master.”
“There aren’t many Tamer Adventurers, so a lot of idiots forget that if you mess with a Tamed Beast, you can’t complain if it retaliates.”
“Fanna also gets some weirdos picking fights with her sometimes.”
“Well, there aren’t many who would pick a fight with us head-on, though.”
“So, what about Fanna do you want to see?”
“I want to see how Fanna’s hunting and subjugation support skills have improved. I don’t know the standards for a Tamer, you see.”
“In that case, I’m the same, I don’t know any other Tamers either.”
“But I want to know to what extent Linna can teach, and how she’s teaching.”
Orange Sheep, goats, Elks… Fanna assisted in the hunt following Linna’s words and hand signals, and at times, she would even run up trees, look around, and search for prey.
I thought Linna might be spoiling her like a pet, but she was also properly disciplined as a Tamed Beast, which impressed me.
In my case, I rely heavily on Bee-chan for Searching, and I give instructions for hunting assistance via telepathy, so I was surprised at how completely different it was.
It was a good reference for when I meet other Tamers, so I thanked them and said goodbye.
After this, I have no particular goals until the autumn Gold Mash harvest, so I left Emden to do some sightseeing in the Royal Capital and sell Honey.
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I bypassed Holm without even entering the town and headed for the next town, Brun.
For the first time since coming to this world, I felt lighthearted, thinking I was traveling by my own will and not because of some trouble.
However, it didn’t take long to realize that if I walked along the highway towards the Royal Capital, trouble would come looking for me.
Walking with two Forest Wolves in tow, I seemed to stand out quite a bit. Carriages overtaking me stopped three times, and I was called out to by escorting knights or from within the carriages.
They’d say things like, if I could command Forest Wolves, they’d hire me, or imperiously tell me to serve as their master’s guard.
It was nothing more than recruitment attempts from people who just wanted to use the Forest Wolves as accessories to show off; I almost laughed when I heard the offered salary.
I have no intention of selling my freedom for 2 or 3 Gold Coins, so while petting a Hoo-chan, I politely declined, stating that I earn more than 10 times that amount.
If they backed off after hearing about my earnings, all well and good. For the persistent ones, I’d use King’s Pressure to overwhelm them and make them withdraw.
However, more so than those kinds of solicitations, most people would see me and Hoo-chan and either avoid us on the road or quickly hurry past.
I entered the town of Brun to dispose of the game remaining in my Magic Bag, but even here, I was stopped by a stubborn Guard who insisted there was no way I could Tame two Forest Wolves like Hoo-chan and his companion.
Seriously, I’m fed up with guys who only speak based on their own common sense, but if I started a fight here, I wouldn’t be able to enter the town, so I decided to explain.
“Please look closely at my Guild Card. I’m a Tamer, and it says Ability 1, but…”
〈Pfft, an Ability 1 Tamer, huh?〉
This guy seemed to be the type who looks down on people to feel superior.
“That’s right. It’s Ability 1, but I have received the Divine Protection of the Tamer God-sama. I registered these two in Emden, and my registration shows one Fang Cat and two wolves.”
“Received Divine Protection? If you receive Divine Protection, you can have two… hmm, a Fang Cat too? This is getting stranger and stranger.”
“What’s all this commotion!”
A man who seemed to be his superior appeared. I wondered how this would turn out.
If they don’t cut it out soon, I’ll Summon Bee-chan and let her go on a rampage.