Chapter 98: Departure
“Jean, take whatever you want from what’s left, okay?” My wife said after finishing the meal and packing.
Once I made the spirits visible, I noticed they were all flitting around nearby. It seemed like Dinoss and his wife, Shiva, were in a contract with their spirits. The spirits wandering about appeared to be from the lineage of Dinoss and Shiva.
Dinoss had a dragon-shaped Fire Spirit that looked like it could be cradled in one arm, while Shiva had a pale blue, female Ice Spirit. En, who had attached himself at the Temple, was a different breed altogether—a squirrel perched on his shoulder.
Why a squirrel? En was using [Storage] to pack up the items Shiva had prepared, stuffing them into his cheek pouches. Watching him nibble on the edges of larger items and effortlessly swallow them into his cheeks was quite surreal.
I had no idea how my own [Storage] worked, but it definitely wasn’t like a squirrel or a hamster…
“There’s no more room!” En exclaimed as both of his cheek pouches bulged to their limits, signaling the end of his [Storage] capacity.
What’s going on with that squirrel and its cheek pouches? If there were two squirrels, would the storage capacity double? I imagined En with a squirrel on each shoulder and couldn’t help but chuckle.
The remaining items and those divided into smaller bundles were tied to the saddles of the horses. The horses were the ones the attackers had ridden. It seemed we were taking the remaining horses with us, whether to sell in town or to swap for another. But seriously, can an eight-year-old even ride a horse?
“Alright, once I feed the livestock and open the gate, we’ll set off.”
“Should I escort you to Kanum?”
“No need, it’s a good opportunity for us to travel as a family.”
I was politely declined.
The livestock consisted of a few pigs, chickens, sheep, and goats. In this area, they could probably survive without human feeding. After all, on sunny days, they were out grazing freely.
Ah, if it’s okay, maybe I should take them all, I thought, watching the livestock engrossed in their feed as they wandered through the open gate.
Before mounting the horse, the children each rushed to hug me. I patted their tearful faces and gently tapped their backs. I also quietly asked the spirits flitting around to let me know if anything happened.
“You’re coming to Kanum too, right? I’ll make sure you can find us at the Adventurer’s Guild, Luf.”
Dinoss said while helping the children onto the horse, who couldn’t mount it alone.
“Luf?”
“Anyone who comes to this desolate place without riding a horse is definitely suspicious, so be careful, alright?”
I exchanged glances with the horse at Dinoss’s words.
The horse seemed to shudder in agreement.
“When you arrive in Kanum, head down ‘Gray Fox’s Back’ and visit Flying Branch B. And by the way, I’m not Luf. I may be a suspicious presence, but I’m not him.”
“Ah, I see, I got it wrong.”
Dinoss chuckled heartily.
“It might be a tough journey for the kids, but we still have some leeway. I have a feeling you possess great power, but I’d rather not rely on it until we really need to.”
Dinoss said with a serious expression.
“We’re friends, after all.”
My wife smiled her usual warm smile.
“So let’s meet in Kanum!”
With that, Dinoss turned his back, waving goodbye along with the four of them.
I was left feeling a bit bashful.
Yeah, using this cheat-like ability to help feels different from just delivering food or assisting with chores.
Alright, when the Dinoss family arrives in Kanum, I’ll treat them to a bath and a meal. Is it too hasty to leave the rental house empty?
Oh, I should put those thoughts aside for now and use [Teleportation] to bring the remaining pigs and sheep back home. If they get full, they’ll probably wander off from the pen, so I need to hurry.
First, I [Teleport] the pig to the livestock shed at home. Next, the sheep, the goats, and finally, I put the chickens in a basket and [Teleport] them too. I mustn’t forget to bring feed and straw for their bedding.
I should build a pen for grazing. I can’t afford the hassle of moving them around every day like the Dinoss family does. But when acorn season comes, I’d love to let the pigs roam in the forest.
As for the chickens, they seem to have grown attached; they return to their bedding at night even if I leave them out. But ah, they need to remember where the shed is.
While I was happily constructing the pen, Rishu sensed my presence and dashed over. It was just a simple matter of driving stakes into the ground at equal intervals and tying ropes at three levels.
As I continued working, Rishu began to play with the leftover rope. But then, he started trying to play with his own tail, spinning around and tumbling over repeatedly. Adorable.
I’ve seen many spirits, but none can compare to my Rishu.