33rd Critter -- SylphI arrived at the starting town without any problems.
...yup. No problems at all. Is there any reason at all for me to be done in by the likes of Poison Snakes by now? Not happening.
...somehow one antidote pill disappeared from storage, but we are all fine.
「MehEeh, hah, hah, meehEehEhEhEe, hah, hah, hah, Gehoh! Gehoh!」
Shut up, Aegis.
My choking on the poison antidote pill seemed to have hit the mark and he continued to laugh, but he laughed so much that he was the one choking instead.
...even so, I was getting angry... Shall I wring his neck once? I feel like doing battle with a Summoned Monster...
「...」*Jito*～ (TN: Reproachful stare/Half-lidded eyes stare)
「...」*Sah* (TN: Half-lidded eyes stare)
Being stared at reproachfully, Aegis suddenly stopped laughing and turned to look away, pretending to not notice. (TN: The literal text uses the expression, "turned toward the day after tomorrow," to describe Aegis looking away.)
Che, he"s got good intuition, this guy. Well, I’ll forgive him for today.
…so, I tried to walk around the town with Boparu, Mizuki and that other one summoned, and for now it seems to be ok.
Just in case, I came with the rabbit equipment removed, but for a while now I"ve seen rabbit-ears headwear walking around here and there, so that might also be okay... Well, today it was too much ha.s.sle to change my clothes, okay?
「Ah, you came, you came! Finally! Onee-chan, so~ slow!」
Even taking into account that she looked like a fairy and was in the middle of the road, Sylph, who was energetically swinging her hands around fast enough to leave after-images, really stood out.
Though with an owl perched on my shoulder, a rabbit riding on my head, a goat in tow, and my starting equipment, I think I absolutely stood out more.
「Sorry, sorry. I ran into monsters on the way and was delayed. But, didn"t I say that I"d take a while?」
「Muu, even though that"s so... well, whatever. Boparu-chan, long time no seeee! You"re as fluffy as always~. This is my first time meeting you guys, isn"t it? An owl and a goat, is it? Right?」
「Yup. Newly summoned. Mizuki and Aegis.」
「Kyuii!」
「Hoh-!」
「Meeh」
「A~aww. They"re all cute! And seem worthy of fluffing. ufufufufu...」 (T/N: evil laughter)
「Oy, Sylph, you"re drooling! Wipe your drool! Moreover, aren"t you trying cling onto me as well!? If you"re going to do it, do it to Aegis.」
「Meeh!?」
「Whupps, that"s no good, *slurp*. And with that, thank you for the food~!」 (TN: slurping back her saliva, and "Itadakimasu", the traditional pre-meal greeting, but more literally means "I will [gratefully] receive [what was offered].")
「Meeeeeeeeh!?」
「It"s fluftasticallyyy fluffyyyy. The surface is a bit hard, but the inside is soft, isn"t it?」
Caught by Sylph and completely unable to move, Aegis was earnestly sending me imploring glances, but with a smile and a thumbs up, I let it be.
Having been loved on at full strength, his eyes were tearing up, but not because he had been harmed or anything. It was because Aegis had become the sacrifice... For at least until the talk with Ria-san was finished.
「Good evening, Yuu-kun. You sisters are really close, aren"t you? How enviable!」
「Good evening. In real life, I don’t really talk much with Sylph, except about important matters. Though, it’s true that we don’t have a bad relationship. AND, I’m a guy, so it’s not sisters, but brother and sister. …well, I’m already starting to give up on that.」
「Oh my, my apologies. ...Boparu-chan and mizuki-chan, as well, long time no see.」
「Kyuii!」
「Hoh-!」
My heart! I understood that a front paw and one wing were being raised in greeting.
If I could see it, it would be cute... But they were on my head and shoulder, so I couldn"t see it.
「Isn"t this the first time I"m seeing that child...Aegis-chan, was it?」
Ria-san was looking on as just in front of her Sylph was making a satisfied expression, sighing with a "fuu", and wiping her forehead, while the figure of Aegis with the fur all over his body having become swish-swished was lying on the ground not moving and looking like he had died, apart from the occasional quiver...
un. He was occasionally moving and such, so he wasn"t dead... If so, then it"s all good.
「Yeah, he"s my new summon. And so, I have something to talk about regarding Aegis, if I may...」
「Um, it might not be something for me to say, but...is that child okay like that? There"s also Sylph-chan drawing closer while making grasping motions with her hands, so...」
「Trap card open! Summon the escaped Mizuki!」
「Hooh!?」
「Yay♪ It"s a new fluffyyy♪」
「Hooooooooh!!??」
「...」
「Fluff, fluff♪」
「Hoh～」
「...and so, the talk about Aegis, if we could?」
「Ah, okay」
「I want to have armor made to fit Aegis. Carefully reading the description, he can equip exclusive-use armor, but I wondered whether there was any place to buy it...」
「Nah. The beginner town is vast, but having said that, it is as you expected. I don"t think there are any stores that stock goat exclusive armor... Ah! Some time ago an acquaintance was saying that horse armor was made, so I will try asking. I think it will be after the Martial Arts Tournament, though, since everyone is currently busy with preparations...」
「That"s completely okay. Thank you.」
There might be a further cla.s.s change by the Martial Arts Tournament, but since the equipment automatically changes size, it should be fine.
「Fwee～、You too, that was also a good fluffing...」
「Hoh～」
Looks like they are finished over there, too. Both of them were glistening somewhat.
Though Mizuki disliked it at first, I wonder if it felt good? Maybe the feeling of pressure was somehow lessened because she was the second one?
「Right, then shall we get going? Aegis also woke up~」
「Meeeh...」
「Eeh, I haven"t fluffed Boparu-chan yet!」
「Can"t you fluff while moving?」
「There was such a way!」
「Kyui!?」
A sacrifice was offered up to Sylph, whose eyes glimmered with a "kyupiin" sound and locked onto Boparu, and we started moving.
Though we hadn"t turned in Fia-chan"s quest, there was no time limit and I wasn"t going to keep Sylph waiting any longer.
Well then, to the desert we go~!
-- Ads -- (Chapter continues below)
－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－「*Hecchi!* *Pepuchi!* Cold! Dessert nights are sooo cold!」 (TN: Sneezing, blowing nose, etc.)
「I know, right?」
I took it too lightly! It"s 3 times colder than expected! Mountain nights are also cold, but desert nights are way colder! Even if it"s not unbearable, it"s still harsh. Going back to the town would be troublesome, but cold things are cold.
「Rather, I understand that the fluffy Boparu and gang are unphased, but how can Sylph, whose armor is as thin as mine, be fine? I don’t get it…」
「Kyui?」
「Hooh」
「Meeeeeh」
「It"s a question of willpower, my dear! ...just kidding! Since I took the Cold Protection skill, I"m strong against cold, you know! With the cold, it’s harder to use your hands, and it’s a bother to change of equipment, right?」
「Yeah, that"s for sure...」
「Since it"s 2 points for all jobs, why don"t you take it? Incidentally, since the skill for becoming strong against heat, called Heat Resistance, can also be taken for the same number of points, wouldn"t it be good to take them together?」
「Is that so?」
If I acquire cold resistance, I feeling that the cold will be softened a bit, but would it change all that much? Wouldn"t the resistance increase as the level increases?
「Well, as far as I"m concerned, I"m more amazed at onee-chan"s appearance than mine. For sure, it is high performance and currently fashionable, though isn"t "the rabbit-san series" increasingly seen as only for girls? No, from the beginning it was only seen as for girls...」
「Oh, shut it.」
Because it"s cute, it"s fine. Cute is justice!
「And so? In the desert, what kind of monsters are... Ah-!?」
My foot slipped as the sand shifted and I crashed face-first into the sand. Actually, it is the 3rd time I"ve fallen like this. Desert walking is amazingly difficult. I guess that sand doesn"t get into your clothes and mouth is some consolation...
Aegis seems alright, but Boparu seems bothered that it"s difficult to move. It hurts that Boparu"s mobility has been sealed. Really hurts. It"s a party annihilation level blow. Well, it"s not to the degree to say that he can"t jump, so it"s probably fine...
「That huuuurts, I fell down again, wha-?」
The sand sifted away as I moved my hands to raise my face. Or rather, I"m falling down and the ground itself is slowly mov...ing!?
I was stuck in the flowing sand. And the sand was flowing downward up ahead. As a harsh grinding noise came out at the location where the sand was sinking the most, I saw the appearance of the monster that was awaiting my downward slide.